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CO 


THE   LLOYDS   OF    BIRMINGHAM 


I 


THE  LLOYDS  OF 
BIRMINGHAM 

WITH  SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  THE 
FOUNDING  OF  LLOYDS  BANK 


BY 


SAMUEL    LLOYD 


SECOND   EDITION 


BIRMINGHAM 
CORNISH   BROTHERS,   LIMITED 

LONDON  :  SIMPKIN,  MARSHALL   &°  CO.,   LTD, 
1907 


C5 


Printed  by  BALLANTYNE,  HANSON  5r*  Co. 
At  the  Ballantyne  Press,  Edinburgh 


INTRODUCTION 


IN  the  following  pages  Mr.  Lloyd  begins  one  of  the 
most  interesting  of  tasks — he  has  embarked  upon 
the  history  of  a  family.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive 
of  anything  more  pleasant  to  a  student  of  human 
nature,  endowed  with  leisure,  a  gift  of  expression, 
and  the  desire  to  re-create  the  past,  than  to  set  out 
on  such  an  enterprise. 

To  write  the  history  of  a  family  !  The  biography 
of  an  individual,  even  a  dull  one,  offers  almost  too 
many  attractions,  and  certainly  too  many  distrac- 
tions, to  the  really  sympathetic  pen  ;  but  when  one 
is  made  free  of  a  whole  race,  to  pick  and  choose 
where  one  will,  to  dally  as  long  as  one  will  or  as 
briefly,  one's  labour  can  become  more  fascinating 
than  the  old  moralists  would  ever  have  liked  it 
to  be. 

Resorting  to  imagery,  one  might  liken  the 
biographer  of  an  individual  to  the  navigator  of  a 
river  from  its  source  to  the  sea,  always  in  the  main 
stream  ;  and  the  biographer  of  a  family  to  a  similar 
navigator  with  an  extended  charter,  who  even 
before  embarking  spends  much  time  among  the 
springs  in  the  mountains  whence  the  river  flows, 
and,  once  afloat,  urges  his  boat  down  every 
tributary,  however  small,  and  into  every  back- 
water. 

Mr.  Lloyd,  as  I  have  suggested,  has  here 
attempted  only  a  sketch  :  he  has  not  taken  to  the 
river  with  boundless  time  before  him,  prepared  not 


VI 


INTRODUCTION 


only  to  explore  the  tributaries  but  cast  anchor  in 
them  too,  and  even  perhaps  to  pass  on  to  explore 
and  cast  anchor  in  their  tributaries  in  their  turn, 
and  then  theirs  ;  but  he  has  done  enough  to  show 
how  rich  in  possibilities  to  the  biographer  a  mer- 
cantile family  in  the  English  midlands  can  be,  even 
when  it  is  a  family  pacific  not  only  by  nature  but 
by  religion,  law-abiding,  sagacious,  and  prosperous, 
lacking  any  extremes  either  of  genius  or  misfortune, 
and  almost  guiltless  of  mistakes.  Not  that  passion 
or  error,  poverty  or  riches,  war  or  art,  recklessness 
or  excess — or  that  indefinable  quality,  composed 
of  certain  of  these  ingredients,  which  we  will  call 
romance — is  indispensable  to  the  biographer,  or 
indeed  makes  a  better  book  than  the  more  sober 
characteristics  that  I  have  named  ;  but  it  is  usual 
at  the  first  blush  to  expect  more  from  the  records 
of  a  family  that  has  known  Fortune's  frown  as  well 
as  smile — that  has  had  its  adventurers,  its  aliens, 
and  its  rebels — than  from  a  house  of  commercial 
fame.  The  expectation,  however,  is  not  always 
a  sound  one.  There  is,  when  all  is  said,  just 
about  the  same  amount  of  human  nature  in  one 
man  as  another.  The  only  difference  is  that  your 
romantic  wears  it  on  his  sleeve.  The  business  of 
the  biographer  being  rather  less  with  what  is  worn 
on  the  sleeve  than  anywhere  else,  the  difference 
hardly  touches  him. 

There  may  have  been  no  border-fighting  among 
the  early  Welsh  Lloyds,  but  Charles  Lloyd  of 
Dolobran  was  a  spiritual  warrior  of  no  mean 
strength  and  endurance,  and  of  him,  as  of  many 
of  the  early  Quakers  whose  attempts  to  obey  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount  were  to  lead  to  imprison- 
ment in  Christian  dungeons,  we  cannot  know  too 
much.  Fighting  is  barbarism  ;  and  though  one 
would  never  say  a  word  against  that  blessed  leaven, 


INTRODUCTION  vii 

one  may  be  permitted  to  remark  that  a  little  of 
it  in  a  book  can  go  a  long  way,  whereas  with  stuff 
of  the  conscience  one  asks  for  more  and  more. 

There  may  not  have  been  literary  genius  in  the 
Lloyd  family,  although  I  think  that  Charles  Lloyd 
of  Old  Brathay  comes  near  it,  but  he  at  least  was 
of  sufficient  capacity  to  attract  the  genius  of  Cole- 
ridge and  to  be  allowed  to  collaborate  with  Lamb  ; 
while  one  of  his  brothers,  by  his  sympathetic  quick- 
ness, was  able  to  draw  from  Lamb  certain  letters 
that  if  not  his  best  at  any  rate  stand  alone  in 
his  fascinating  correspondence.  It  is  sometimes  as 
pleasant  to  read  about  the  friends  of  great  authors 
as  of  great  authors  themselves.  And  in  Mr. 
Lloyd's  pages  which  follow  we  are  often  in  such 
company.  The  picture  of  Dr.  Johnson  losing  his 
temper  over  Barclay's  Apology  one  will  not  easily 
forget  ;  nor  his  rage  at  the  perversion  (as  he 
thought  it)  to  Quakerism  of  the  courageous  Miss 
Harry,  the  governess  at  "  Farm." 

Every  one  has  his  own  taste  in  books.  Mine 
is  towards  quietude,  and  I  know  that  it  would  be 
difficult  to  give  me  too  many  particulars  as  to  the 
members  of  this  spreading  family — their  sterling 
Quaker  merits,  their  shrewdnesses,  their  benefac- 
tions, their  solidarity,  and  their  acquaintances.  I 
want  to  know  much  more  of  Dr.  Johnson's  host, 
much  more  of  John  Taylor  who  first  made  snuff- 
boxes and  then  decorated  them  with  his  thumb, 
and  who  founded  with  Sampson  Lloyd  a  bank  whose 
assets  now  (1906)  amount  to  seventy-five  millions. 
I  want  to  know  more  of  the  incidents  of  the  bank's 
early  years.  Too  much  attention  has  been  paid 
to  the  growth  of  kingdoms  :  the  growth  of  a  bank 
is  equally  interesting.  Both  are  equally  the  story 
of  human  ambition  and  address — the  difference  is 
purely  one  of  glamour.  Custom  has  decided  that 


viii  INTRODUCTION 

the  affairs  of  a  throne  shall  be  considered  romantic 
and  the  affairs  of  a  bank  prosaic.  But  one  thing- 
is  certain  :  that  a  king  may  be  an  accident  and  yei 
reign  for  half  a  century  ;  whereas  a  banker  can 
never  be  so.  A  banker  has  got  to  be  a  banker 

°r  *°'  E.  V.  LUCAS. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   I 
THE  LLOYDS   OF   DOLOBRAN 

PAGE 

Our  Welsh   origin — John   Lloyd's   Sunday  bodyguard — Dolobran 

Hall — The  Lorts  and  the  name  of  Sampson — Cromwell's  letter        i 

CHAPTER    II 

CHARLES   LLOYD   THE   QUAKER 

George  Fox  in  Wales — Richard  Davies  the  autobiographer — A 
persecuted  sect — Magna  Charta  overridden— Bishop  Burnet's 
comments — Thomas  Ellwood,  the  friend  of  Milton,  and  the 
early  Quakers — Charles  Lloyd  in  prison — A  birth  in  jail — 
The  return  to  Dolobran — Thomas  Lloyd's  troubles — A  dis- 
putation between  Lloyd  the  Bishop  and  Lloyd  the  Quaker — 
Lloyd  the  Bishop  in  his  turn  in  captivity — The  old  Bull  Lane 
burial-ground — Charles  Lloyd's  skull — Tresses  in  the  dust — 
Thomas  Lloyd  and  the  Pennsylvania^  Friends  ...  5 

CHAPTER    III 
THE   LLOYDS   COME  TO   BIRMINGHAM 

The  first  Sampson  Lloyd — The  Conventicle  Act — Birmingham  and 
Dissent — Our  first  ironmasters — The  Lloyd  slitting-mill— The 
adventures  of  Foley — A  fiddle  leads  to  wealth — Fuel  and  iron 
— Friends  at  the  slitting-mill — and  at  an  old  iron  furnace — 
Robert  Plot  describes  the  making  of  iron — Protection  advo- 
cated in  1783 — Richard  Reynolds,  Free  Trader  ...  20 


x  i CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    IV 

THE   SECOND   SAMPSON   LLOYD   AND   "FARM" 

PAGE 

Lloyd  fruitfulness — Our  first  banks — Sampson  Lloyd  in  Park  Street 
and  Old  Square— The  purchase  of  "Farm"— The  Jacobite 
elms — The  summer-house  of  the  four  seasons — Two  stanzas 
on  "  Farm  "  ?— "  Farm  "  to-day— The  heirs  of  Parkes— Rachel 
Lloyd — Kings  and  queens  among  the  Quakers — Kings  and 
clothes — David  Barclay 31 

CHAPTER   V 

BIRMINGHAM'S   EARLY   TRADE 

John  Taylor— The  snuff-box  and  the  thumb — Hutton's  panegyric 
on  Taylor — Friends  at  the  button  factory — The  bank  supplies 
a  demand — Birmingham  begins  to  be  prosperous — Hutton's 
prophecy — Bad  roads  and  highwaymen — The  metal  trade  and 
inventors — Matthew  Boulton  and  James  Watt— Intellectual 
Birmingham  —  Aris  and  Baskerville  —  The  Lunar  Society  — 
Mary  Anne  Galton  takes  notes — Matthew  Boulton's  head  and 
James  Watt's  voice — Heathfield  Hall  and  its  relics — Murdock's 
discoveries — Birmingham  and  the  slave  trade  ....  40 


CHAPTER   VI 

THE    FIRST   BIRMINGHAM    BANK 

On  June  3,  1765,  the  bank  opens — Old  accounts — The  partners — 
Divisions  of  profits — Mary  Lloyd  marries  Osgood  Hanbury — 
Rival  banks — The  wealth  of  Birmingham — The  Priestley  Riots 
—Miss  Ryland,  the  benefactress  of  Birmingham  ...  54 


CHAPTER   VII 
FINANCIAL   STORMS 

Lloyds  notes— Tokens — The  difficult  year  1797 — Charles  Lloyd  of 
Bingley  in  London— The  "Clean"  Bank— The  Napoleonic 
unsettlement  —  Sixty  banks  stop  payment  —  Charles  Lloyd 
weathers  the  storm  —  Runs  on  the  bank — Mr.  Mynors 
thanked  for  nothing— An  Irish  bank  story— The  use  of  .£100 
notes 


CONTENTS  xi 


CHAPTER   VIII 

END   OF   THE   PRIVATE  PARTNERSHIP  AND   THE 
FOUNDATION   OF   LLOYDS   BANK   LIMITED 

PAGE 

Other  Birmingham  banks— Other  Quaker  banks— The  joint-stock 
fashion — The  Lloyds  fall  into  line — The  failure  of  Attwoods — 
Lloyds  prospectus — The  company  is  founded — The  first  annual 
report,  Dec.  31,  1865 — Lloyds  acquires  London  status — The 
process  of  absorption  begins— The  process  of  absorption  con- 
tinues—A gigantic  corporation— Present-day  figures  .  .  70 


CHAPTER   IX 

PERSONAL   RECOLLECTIONS   OF   THE 
LLOYDS   AS   BANKERS 

Directors'  policies— Banking  tact— The  making  of  a  multi-million- 
aire —  Overdrafts  —  Saying  "  No  "  —  Managerial  methods  — 
Anecdotes — The  banker  and  the  usurer — The  late  G.  B.  Lloyd 
— Religious  argument — Three  politicians — John  Bright  and 
Thomas  Lloyd — John  Bright  and  the  Society  of  Friends — The 
late  S.  S.  Lloyd— Free  Trade  and  Protection— The  old  way 
and  the  new — My  adventure  in  the  safe — The  Silent  Highway  81 


CHAPTER   X 

THE  THIRD  SAMPSON   LLOYD   AND   BETSY  FIDOE 

Mrs.  Schimmelpenninck's  story  —  A  beautiful  Quakeress  —  Jail 
fever — Sampson  Lloyd  seeks  a  woman  and  finds  an  angel 
— Fecundity  —  A  philosophic  father — Richard  tReynolds  and 
Sampson  Lloyd  —  A  modern  patriarch — Mr.  Beverley  at 
"Farm"  —  An  elopement  —  A  Gretna  Green  marriage  —  A 
child  at  Child's  Bank 95 

CHAPTER   XI 

DR.  JOHNSON   AND    MARY   KNOWLES 

The  great  lexicographer  at  Birmingham — Dining  at  Sampson 
Lloyd's — The  discussion  on  Barclay's  Apology — The  doctor  in 
a  rage — And  in  repentance — His  exploration  of  Birmingham 
—The  Dictionary — Olivia  Lloyd — Mrs.  Knowles — Bos  well's 
reports  of  dialectical  bouts — Religion  and  the  rights  of  women 
— "  The  Farm  "  governess  and  Dr.  Johnson — A  long  conversa- 
tion— Thrale's  brewery 106 


xii  .  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   XII 


THE   GALTONS 


PAGE 


The  Society  of  Friends  in  Birmingham— Bull  Street  Meeting-house 

Tainted   money  —  Quakers  and   force  —  Gun-making  and 

Christianity— The  third  Sampson  Lloyd  as  ambassador- 
Samuel  Gallon's  letters— Dr.  Livingstone's  testimony— War 
and  peace— George  Dawson— Later  Galtons— Dr.  Francis 
Gallon  and  heredity— The  Rev.  Arthur  Galton  .  .  .120 


CHAPTER   XIII 
CHARLES   LLOYD    OF   BINGLEY 

Thomas  Lloyd  in  Mexico — A  narrow  escape — The  Gentlemaris 
Magazine  on  Charles  Lloyd  —  A  busy  philanthropist  —  The 
translation  of  Homer— Charles  Lamb's  opinions— A  good 
passage — Lamb  on  Mr.  Lloyd's  Odyssey — And  on  Horace — 
"  To  my  Steward"— Some  anecdotes— A  kindly  father— Robert 
Lloyd's  character-sketch  of  his  father — Aris's  Gazette  on  Mr. 
Lloyd — A  determined  friend— Elizabeth  Fry — Mrs.  Charles 
Lloyd— Welcome  to  Richard  T.  Cadbury  .  .  .  .133 


CHAPTER    XIV 
CHARLES    LLOYD    THE   POET 

An  unwilling  banker — Advice  to  a  young  brother — S.  T.  Coleridge 
appears  in  Birmingham — Philosopher  and  neophyte — Bristol 
and  Nether  Stowey — First  mental  illness — Charles  Lloyd  visits 
Charles  Lamb — A  falling  out  of  friends — Thomas  Manning — 
Lloyd  marries — At  Old  Brathay — De  Quincey's  testimony — 
Shelley — Troublous  years — London  and  Macready — Lloyd  as 
a  poet — Lloyd's  children — "  Lile  Owey" — Hartley  Coleridge's 
poem  .  147 

CHAPTER   XV 

ROBERT   LLOYD   AND   CHARLES   LAMB 

Charles  Lamb's  letter  of  advice — Duty  to  parents — A  mother's 
letter — A  runaway — Charles  Lloyd  of  Bingley  in  London — 
Lamb  on  marriage — Robert  Lloyd  marries — A  determined 
bachelor — Robert  Lloyd  in  London — Literary  society — A 
glimpse  of  Charles  and  Mary  Lamb  at  home — Robert  Lloyd's 
death — Lamb's  memoir  of  him 164 


CONTENTS  xiii 

CHAPTER   XVI 

ANNA  BRAITHWAITE 

PAGE 

The  Edgbaston  Street  home— A  house  without  gossip— Charles 
Lloyd's  letters  to  his  daughter — An  opponent  of  Elias  Hicks — 
Dr.  Edwards  recalls  his  youth — An  American  mutiny — Harriet 
Beecher  Stowe  at  "Farm"— The  late  Joseph  Bevan  Braith- 
waite 175 

CHAPTER   XVII 

THE   FIRST  SAMUEL   LLOYD 

George  Braithwaite  Lloyd's  parentage — My  grandfather  and  his 
coachman — The  first  head  of  a  Lloyd  family  to  leave  the 
Friends — Elias  Hicks  and  his  influence — Isaac  Crewdson's 
counterblast  — Mr.  Beverley  at  "  Farm  "  — George  Stacey— 
Quaker  Conservatives — And  the  new  spirit — Quaker  dress — 
Samuel  Bowley's  beard 182 

CHAPTER   XVIII 
THE   LLOYDS   AND   WEDNESBURY 

The  Wednesbury  mines — Richard  Parkes'  bargain — Lord  Eldon's 
delays — The  Quaker  and  the  motto — Pumping-engines  in- 
vented— "Squire"  Wilkinson — Excursions  to  Wednesbury — 
The  beacon-fires— The  "  Clippers  "—Wednesbury  in  my  early 
days— Cock-fighting— My  father,  "Quaker"  Lloyd— A  tall 
family — The  Friends  and  tithes — Nonconformity  at  the  present 
day — Lloyds,  Fosters  &  Co. — The  Blackfriars  Bridge  and 
financial  difficulty — Lessons  from  adversity — A  truly  generous 
man — The  Lloyds  and  iron — Famous  ironmasters — The  Bible 
in  Spain — The  end 189 

APPENDIX  I.  Ancestry  of  the  Lloyds 205 

APPENDIX  II.  Reports  and  Balance  Sheets  of  Lloyds  Bank  .        .    212 

APPENDIX  III.  The  late  S.  S.  Lloyd's  speech  at  the  opening  of 

the  Exchange  Buildings,  Birmingham,  1865      ....     230 

APPENDIX  IV.  Charles  Lloyd's  Imprisonment,  &c.                        .  235* 
INDEX 235 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

The  Illustrations  in  this  volume  have  been  engraved  and  printed 
by  the  RUSKIN  PRESS  COMPANY,  Birmingham 

VIEW  OF  "FARM"  IN  THE  SNOW.  TAKEN  AT 

CHRISTMAS,  1906 Frontispiece 

PLAN  OF  CENTRAL  PORTION  OF  BIRMINGHAM, 
SHOWING  POSITION  OF  THE  FIRST  RESI- 
DENCES OF  SAMPSON  AND  CHARLES  LLOYD 

AFTER   THEY   CAME   TO   BIRMINGHAM       .  .       To  face  page  2O 

CHARLES  LLOYD'S  HOUSE,   No.   56   EDGBASTON 

STREET „         ,,      22 

SAMPSON  LLOYD'S  HOUSE,  No.  18  PARK  STREET       „         „      32 
"FARM"  FROM  THE  WEST  SIDE  OF  THE  AVENUE     „         „      34 

OWEN'S  FARMHOUSE,  AS   IT  NOW  is,  DECEMBER 

1906 „         „      36 

THOMAS  PEMBERTON,  JUNIOR      .        .        .        .       „         „      42 

FACSIMILE  COPY  OF  HANDBILL  (THE  FIRST  STAGE- 
COACH BETWEEN  BIRMINGHAM  AND  LONDON)  „  ,,  46 

LANDSCAPE    VIEW    OF    BIRMINGHAM    WHEN    A 

SMALL  TOWN,  1731 ,,         ,,48 

GENEALOGICAL  TABLE ,,         „       60 


xvi          LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

ONE-POUND  BANK  NOTE                                      •  To  face  page  62 
ONE  THIRD  OF  GUINEA  BANK  NOTE 
ONE  QUARTER  OF  GUINEA  BANK  NOTE  ' 

Issued  by  TAYLORS  &  LLOYDS 

THE  SECOND  JOHN  TAYLOR                         •  „         »      72 

GEORGE  B.  LLOYD       .  »         »      88 

THOMAS  LLOYD  .  »         »      9° 

SAMPSON  S.  LLOYD     .  »         >»      92 

POLITICAL  CARTOON  :— 

STATE  OMNIBUS:    THE   RIGHT   HON.    JOHN 
BRIGHT  THE  DRIVER,  S.  S.  LLOYD  THE 

PASSENGER    .  »        »       94 

BETSY  FIDOE       .  »         »      98 

MRS.  KNOWLES  .  »         »     II0 

DR.  JOHNSON      .  »        »     IJ8 

BINGLEY  HOUSE          .  »)         »     134 

S.  T.  COLERIDGE        .                         .                 •  »         »>    X5° 

CHARLES  LLOYD  THE  POET  AND  HIS  WIFE         .  „         „     154 

CHARLES    LLOYD   READING  TO   HIS   WIFE   AND 

Two  LADIES ,,         n      rS8 

FACSIMILE  COPY  OF  LETTER  BY  ROBERT  LLOYD'S 

LITTLE  DAUGHTER,  SARAH  LLOYD      .         .  „         ,,     174 

SAMUEL  LLOYD  OF  "FARM"        ...  „         „     202 


THE 

LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

CHAPTER    I 

THE    LLOYDS   OF   DOLOBRAN 

Our  Welsh  origin — John  Lloyd's  Sunday  bodyguard — Dolobran  Hall — 
The  Lorts  and  the  name  of  Sampson— Cromwell's  letter 

THE  Welsh  family  of  Lloyd,  from  which  came  the 
Lloyds  of  Birmingham,  claims  descent  on  the  male 
side  from  Aleth,  who  in  the  eleventh  century  was 
King  of  Dyfed,  otherwise  Demicia  or  Demica,  a 
territory  which  included  what  are  now  the  shires  of 
Cardigan,  Pembroke,  and  Caermarthen. 

The  sixth  in  descent  from  Aleth  was  Celynin, 
who  acquired  Llwydiarth  (hence  the  name)  by  in- 
heritance about  the  year  1300,  and  the  family  be- 
came seated  at  Dolobran  from  that  time  to  1780. 

Llewellyn  Einion,  grandson  of  Celynin,  had 
three  sons,  and  to  David,  at  the  division  between 
them  of  their  father's  estates,  fell  Dolobran  and 
Coedcowrid  near  Welshpool. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Ivan  Teg,  or  the  "  Hand- 
some," whose  son  and  heir,  Owen,  about  the  year 
1476  assumed  the  name  of  Lloyd.  This  he  took 
from  Llwydiarth  in  Montgomery,  the  seat  of  his 
grandfather,  and  he  was  thus  the  first  Lloyd.  His 
grandson,  David  Lloyd  of  Dolobran,  was  born  in 

A* 


2      THE   LLOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 

1523,  and  was  in  the  Commission  of  the  Peace  for 
Montgomeryshire.  His  great  grandson,  John  Lloyd 
of  Dolobran,  also  a  county  J.P.,  was  a  noted 
antiquary,  who,  by  means  of  the  parchment  deeds 
of  Welsh  properties,  traced  his  ancestry  among  the 
landed  gentry  of  Wales  from  the  sixth  century. 

John  Lloyd  of  Dolobran  made  his  home  at 
Coedcowrid,  where  he  lived  in  great  state,  as  it 
was  then  considered,  having  twenty-four  men,  his 
tenants,  with  halberds,  to  attend  him  to  Meifod 
church,  placing  them  in  his  great  pew  under  the 
pulpit.  A  prosperous  landowner,  he  added  to  his 
estate  and  also  improved  his  house,  wainscotting 
the  parlour  and  the  hall.  Most  of  the  com- 
munion plate  was  his  gift.  His  son,  the  first 
Charles  Lloyd  of  Dolobran  —  Charles  being  a 
name  that  ever  afterwards  recurred  in  the  family 
— was  born  in  1613,  and  married  Elizabeth  Stanley, 
a  lady  belonging  to  the  family  of  Stanley,  Earls 
of  Derby.1  He  also  succumbed  to  the  temptation 
to  enlarge  and  added  many  timber  buildings  to 
Dolobran,  "  making  the  said  Hall's  platform  to 
resemble  the  figure  of  a  capital  L."  The  old  house 
still  stands,  but  its  glories  have  departed.  Coed- 
cowrid stands,  too,  and  Meifod  church. 

The  first  Charles  Lloyd  of  Dolobran  fostered  a 
hobby  which  has  always  been  honoured  in  the  family 
— he  was  a  keen  genealogist.  He  died  in  1657. 

With  Charles  Lloyd  of  Dolobran's  eldest  son, 
Charles,  the  second  Charles  Lloyd,  this  history  may 
be  said  to  begin.  Born  in  1637,  he  was  educated  with 
his  brothers,  John  and  Thomas,  at  Jesus  College, 
Oxford,  the  first  purely  Protestant  College  founded 
in  that  University.2  The  two  elder,  Charles  and 
John,  graduated  in  medicine ;  John  afterwards 

1  See  Appendix,  p.  208. 

'2  See  College  Histories,  by  Mr.  E.  G.  Hardy. 


THE   LLOYDS    OF   DOLOBRAN         3 

became  one  of  the  six  Clerks  in  Chancery,  and 
presented  to  his  native  parish  church  of  Meifod  a 
flagon  and  a  paten  of  silver-gilt  for  the  Communion 
service,  which  may  still  be  seen.  Thomas,  the 
third  son,  became  William  Penn's  chosen  friend. 

On  January  i,  1661,  when  twenty-four  years 
of  age,  Charles  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
Sampson  Lort  of  Pembroke,  the  son  of  Sir  George 
Lort,  baronet,  of  Stackpole  Court,  Pembrokeshire. 
The  Lorts  were  an  old  Norman  family,  Sampson 
being  named  after  a  Norman  saint  of  the  early 
Church,  to  whom  one  often  finds  churches  dedi- 
cated in  Guernsey  and  Normandy,  and  also  at 
Crickdale  in  Wiltshire,  and  elsewhere.1  By  this 
marriage  the  name  Sampson  came  into  the  Lloyd 
family — and  into  Birmingham,  for  without  it  there 
would  be  no  Sampson  Road  at  Sparkbrook. 

Sampson  Lort  was  a  Parliamentarian,  who  with 
his  relative  John  was  in  1648  selected  by  Cromwell 
to  assist  in  the  destruction  of  the  castle  of  Haver- 
fordwest.  The  Protector's  autograph  letter  ad- 
dressed to  the  Haverfordwest  Corporation  runs  as 
follows  : — 

"  Whereas  upon  view  and  consideration  with  Mr.  Roger 
Lort  and  Sampson  Lort,  and  the  Maior  and  Aldermen  of 
Havorford  west,  it  is  thought  fit  for  the  preservinge  of  the 
peace  of  the  countye  that  the  Castell  of  Havorford  west  should 
be  speedily  demolished.  These  are  to  Authorise  you  to  call 
to  your  assistance  in  the  performance  of  this  service  the  In- 
habitants of  the  Hundreds  of  Dangleddy,  Kemis  Roose  and 
Killgarron,  who  are  hereby  required  to  give  you  assistance. 
Given  under  our  hands  the  I4th  of  July,  1648. 

O.  CROMWELL.    SAM.  LORT.    JOHN  LORT. 

To  THE  MAIOR  AND  ALDERMEN 
OF  HAVORFORD  WEST." 


1  Extracts  from  Montgomeryshire   Collections,  vol.  ix.      Printed  by  the 
Powysland  Club,  Welshpool,  pp.  339-341. 


4     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

In  1660  Sampson  Lort  attended  the  nomination 
for  the  return  of  a  member  to  the  Covenanters' 
Parliament,  and  had,  as  even  his  opponents  ad- 
mitted, a  majority  of  the  electors,  "  but  the  Council 
and  Sheriff  [returning  officers]  having  decided 
beforehand  to  refuse  his  nomination,  his  opponent, 
Mr.  Phillips,  a  representative  of  the  younger  branch 
of  the  Picton  family,  a  hot  Royalist,  was  elected." 


CHAPTER  II 

CHARLES  LLOYD  THE  QUAKER 

George  Fox  in  Wales — Richard  Davies  the  autobiographer — A  perse- 
cuted sect — Magna  Charta  overridden — Bishop  Burnet's  comments 
— Thomas  Ellwood,  the  friend  of  Milton,  and  the  early  Quakers — 
Charles  Lloyd  in  prison — A  birth  in  jail — The  return  to  Dolo- 
bran — Thomas  Lloyd's  troubles — A  disputation  between  Lloyd  the 
Bishop  and  Lloyd  the  Quaker — Lloyd  the  Bishop  in  his  turn  in  cap- 
tivity— The  old  Bull  Lane  burial-ground — Charles  Lloyd's  skull — 
Tresses  in  the  dust — Thomas  Lloyd  and  the  Pennsylvanian  Friends 

CHARLES  LLOYD,  the  second,  of  Dolobran  had  been 
instructed  at  church  that  he  should  make  every  pre- 
cept in  the  Scriptures  a  law  unto  himself,  and  that 
a  man  should  desire  to  please  God  in  all  the  actions 
of  his  life.  His  religious  principles  and  thoughtful 
intelligence  were  soon  to  be  put  to  the  test. 

His  spiritual  sufferings  came  about  in  this  way. 
There  lived  at  Welshpool  a  fervently  religious 
young  man,  who  had  studied  his  Bible  for  years, 
named  Richard  Davies.  When  George  Fox  visited 
Wales  on  a  preaching  mission  Davies  was  one  of 
his  most  influential  converts  to  the  beliefs  of  the 
early  Friends,  or,  as  they  were  called  in  ridicule, 
the  Quakers.  Davies  one  day  arranged  for  a  reli- 
gious meeting  to  be  held  at  Dolobran  at  the  house 
of  Hugh  David,  one  of  Charles  Lloyd's  tenants. 
In  his  Autobiography l  we  read  : — 

"  A  day  or  two  after  we  went  to  the  meeting,  where  came 
in  Charles  Lloyd  of  Dolobran,  who  was  formerly  in  Commission 

1  The  Autobwgraph 
entitled  An  Accout, 
of  Ancient  Friends 


6     THE   LLOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 

of  the  Peace,  and  had  been  in  election  to  be  High  Sheriff  of 
that  County,  and  also  several  of  his  well  meaning  neighbours 
.  .  .  the  Lord  was  not  wanting  .  .  .  and  in  the  love,  fear,  and 
life  of  truth,  we  parted." 

One  result  of  this  meeting  was  that  Charles  Lloyd, 
who  had  already,  at  Oxford,  become  interested  in 
the  Friends'  doctrines,  joined  the  new  sect. 

Upon  the  day  following  the  meeting  convened 
by  Richard  Davies,  a  similar  religious  meeting  was 
held  at  Charles  Lloyd's  own  house.  Reports  of 
these  meetings  were  quickly  spread,  and  there  is  no 
doubt  that  their  significance  was  emphasised  by  the 
social  position  which  Charles  Lloyd  then  held. 
The  reports  having  reached  high  quarters,  he  and 
six  others  were  summoned  before  Edward  Lord  Her- 
bert, Baron  of  Cherbury,  who  lived  about  three  miles 
from  Dolobran.  After  a  superficial  examination, 
the  six  unfortunate  Friends,  upon  their  refusal  to 
take  the  oaths  of  Allegiance  and  Supremacy — all 
oaths  being  held  wrong  by  Fox  and  his  followers,  who 
obeyed  to  the  letter  Christ's  command,  "  Swear  not 
at  all  "  —were  sent  to  Welshpool,  and  cast  into  the 
prison  there,  to  await  a  trial  which  never  took  place. 

It  may  be  asked,  What  had  become  of  Magna 
Charta?  This  charter,  extorted  from  King  John 
by  the  Barons  in  1215,  was  amplified  in  the  reign 
of  his  son,  Henry  III.,  and  confirmed  by  his  grand- 
son, Edward  I.  The  twenty-ninth  chapter  of  the 
Act  of  Henry  III.,  passed  in  the  ninth  year  of  his 
reign,  says  : — 

"  No  freeman  shall  be  taken  or  imprisoned  or  be  disseized 
of  his  freehold  or  liberties,  or  free  customs,  or  be  outlawed, 
or  exiled,  or  any  otherwise  destroyed ;  nor  we  will  not  pass 
upon  him,  nor  condemn  him ;  but  by  lawful  judgment  of  his 
peers,  or  by  the  law  of  the  land." 

This  was  the  law  when  Charles  II.  ascended 
the  throne.  How  then,  the  question  naturally 


CHARLES   LLOYD   THE   QUAKER      7 

arises,  could  these  early  Friends  be  kept  in  prison 
for  so  long  a  time  without  trial  ?  Bishop  Burnet  in 
his  History  of  his  own  Time  throws  some  light  on 
the  subject.  He  says  : — 

"I  was  in  Court  the  Greater  part  of  the  year  1662-3-4. 
An  Act  was  passed  empowering  Justices  of  the  peace  to  con- 
vict offenders  without  Juries.  .  .  .  And  a  meeting  for  religious 
worship  at  which  five  were  present  more  than  the  family,  was 
declared  to  be  a  Conventicle ;  and  every  person  in  it  was  to 
lie  three  months  in  prison,  or  to  pay  ^5  for  the  first  offence, 
six  months  for  the  second,  or  to  pay  a  fine  of  £20,  and  for  the 
third  offence,  being  convicted  by  a  Jury,  to  be  banished  to  any 
plantation  except  New  England  or  Virginia,  or  to  pay  a  fine  of 
one  hundred  pounds.  All  people  were  amazed  at  this  severity." 

Bishop  Burnet  might  have  added  that,  not  only  were 
the  people  amazed  at  its  severity,  but  also  at  its 
violation  of  the  primary  law  of  the  realm  ;  for  the 
Magna  Charta  had  made  it  a  clear  principle  of  our 
constitution  that  no  man  can  be  detained  in  prison 
without  trial. 

Thomas  Ellwood,1  the  friend  of  Milton  and 
William  Penn,  and  one  of  the  early  Quakers, 
writes  of  the  Conventicle  Act  which  was  passed 
in  May  1664  as  u  A  very  severe  Law  made  against 
the  Quakers  by  Name,  and  more  particularly  Pro- 
hibiting our  Meetings  under  the  sharpest  Penalties, 
.  .  .  which  Law  was  looked  upon  to  have  been 
procured  by  the  Bishops,  in  order  to  bring  us  to  a 
Conformity  to  their  way  of  Worship."  He  further 
describes  it  as  "  that  unaccountable  Law,  if  that  may 
be  allowed  to  be  called  a  Law,  by  whomsoever 
made,  which  was  so  directly  contrary  to  the  Funda- 
mental Laws  of  England,  to  common  Justice, 
Equity,  and  Right  Reason,  and  directly  contrary 
to  the  Great  Charter." 

1  History  of  the  Life  of  Thomas  Ellwood,  written  by  his  own   hand. 
London:  Headley  Bros.,  1906. 


8     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

By  this  Act,  he  says,  the  informers  were  entitled 
to  a  third  part  of  the  fines,  and  "they  drove  an 
underhand  private  trade,  so  that  men  often  were 
convicted  and  fined  without  having  any  notice  or 
knowledge  of  it,  till  the  officers  came  and  took 
away  their  goods,  nor  even  then  could  they  tell 
by  whose  evidence  they  were  convicted.  Than 
which  what  could  be  more  opposite  to  common 
justice?"  It  may  be  assumed,  however,  that  the 
Bishops  thought  to  serve  God  by  stamping  out 
Dissent. 

"No  sooner,"  says  Ellwood,  "was  this  cruel 
law  made,  but  it  was  put  in  Execution  with  great 
Severity,"  and  on  the  first  day  of  the  Fifth  Month 
following  (new  style,  July  1665)  "one  of  the  Quakers 
having  died,  others  of  them  were  carrying  his  corpse 
in  a  coffin  on  their  shoulders  to  bury  him  in  his  own 
orchard  outside  Amersham  in  Buckinghamshire, 
when  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  (named  Benett)  stopped 
them,  and  his  order  to  put  the  coffin  down  not  being 
observed  as  quickly  as  he  desired,  threw  the  coffin 
off  the  bearers'  shoulders  with  a  forcible  thrust  to 
the  ground"  —  obliging  them  to  arrest  Ellwood 
and  nine  others  and  send  them  to  Ailesbury  Jail, 
"for  what  neither  we  nor  they  knew,"  and  they 
were  ordered  to  pay  a  fine  of  six  shillings  and 
eightpence  each,  or  remain  in  prison  a  month. 

"Innocent  of  doing  anything  wrong,"  Ellwood 
says,  they  declined  to  pay  the  fine,  so  before  he 
left  the  prison  at  the  end  of  the  month  he  wrote  : — 

"  Some  men  are  Free  when  they  in  Prison  lie ; 
Others,  who  ne'r  saw  Prison,  Captives  Die," 

which  he  termed  a  riddle.     The  following  he  styled 
the  solution  : — 

"  He  only's  free  indeed  that's  free  from  sin, 
And  he  is  safest  bound,  that's  bound  therein." 


CHARLES   LLOYD   THE   QUAKER      9 

Thomas  Ellwood  says  of  the  terrible  year  1670, 
so  disastrous  to  the  Nonconformists,  that  under 
the  Conventicle  Act  "  Persecution  was  carried  on 
with  very  great  Severity  and  Rigour  in  the  year 
1670 ;  the  worst  of  Men,  for  the  most  part  being 
set  up  for  Informers  ;  the  worst  of  Magistrates 
encouraging  and  abetting  them  ;  and  the  worst  of 
the  Priests  (who  first  began  to  blow  the  Fire)  now 
seeing  how  it  took,  spread,  and  blazed,  clapping 
their  Hands,  and  Hallowing  them  on  to  this  Evil 
Work." 

Charles  Lloyd  and  others  of  the  Friends  thus 
imprisoned  were  substantial  freeholders,  and  al- 
though they  might  probably  have  regained  their 
liberty  by  taking  the  oaths  of  Allegiance  and  Supre- 
macy, and  by  payment  of  fines,  yet  they  underwent 
imprisonment  rather  than  be  false  to  their  religious 
convictions. 

Incidentally,  however,  it  may  be  observed  that 
the  Quakers,  or  Friends,  were  not  the  first  who 
refused  to  recognise  the  right  to  enforce  the  adminis- 
tration of  oaths.  A  sect  called  the  Anabaptists 
had  long  previously  condemned  all  oaths  whether 
profane  or  judicial,  holding  the  prohibition  of 
Christ  to  be  of  general  application. 

The  following  passage  quoted  from  Dr.  Thomas 
Hodgkin  shows  clearly  the  state  of  things  at  the 
time  : — 

"  But  there  was  now  to  be  a  demonstration  of  the  fact,  often 
proved  in  after  years,  that  the  Quaker  would  rather  under-go 
any  amount  of  imprisonment  than  satisfy  what  he  conceived 
to  be  an  unjust  demand.  It  was  in  many  cases  a  living  death 
that  he  thus  confronted,  for  the  prisons  of  England  in  that 
century  were  horrible  beyond  description;  still,  when  the 
Quaker  had  made  up  his  mind  that  a  certain  claim  was 
unrighteous,  he  would  rather  suffer  anything  than  pay  it; 
and  this  invincible  resolution  of  his  had  no  small  share 
in  bringing  about  the  victorious  issue  of  the  battle  which  was 


io     THE   LLOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 

to  be  waged  for  liberty  of  thought  during  the  following  half 
century." 1 

During  the  first  year  or  two  of  the  imprisonment 
of  Charles  Lloyd  and  his  fellow-sufferers  for  con- 
science' sake,  there  appears  to  have  been  no  relaxa- 
tion of  the  harsh  prison  discipline  prevailing  at 
the  time  ;  for  Richard  Davies  describes  the  jail  as 
a  "  dirty,  nasty  place,"  and  says,  that  Charles 
Lloyd  "  was  put  into  a  little  smoky  room,  and  did 
lie  upon  a  little  straw  himself  for  a  considerable 
time,  and  at  last  his  tender  wife,  Elizabeth  .  .  . 
was  made  willing  to  lie  upon  straw  with  her  dear 
and  tender  husband." 

In  these  unhappy  circumstances  their  eldest 
son,  the  third  Charles  Lloyd,  was  born  August  18, 
1662,  though  the  presence  of  Elizabeth  Lloyd  in 
the  prison  was  not  compulsory,  but  optional.  Her 
name  is  not  included  in  the  list  of  the  six  Friends 
sent  by  Lord  Herbert  to  Welshpool. 

Charles  Lloyd's  younger  brother,  Thomas, 
hearing  that  his  brother  was  in  prison,  travelled 
quickly  from  Oxford,  where  he  was  still  a  student, 
to  visit  him.  u  They  told  me,"  writes  Richard 
Davies,  "that  the  great  sufferings  of  Friends,  in 
that  city  of  Oxford,  by  the  magistrates  and  by  the 
wild  and  ungodly  scholars,  did  work  much  upon 
them,  and  they  had  some  secret  love  for  Friends 
then.  So  when  Thomas  Lloyd  came  home,  being 
sometime  with  Friends  in  prison  and  elsewhere, 
the  Lord  opened  his  understanding  by  his  light 
life  and  power,  and  he  received  the  truth  and  was 
obedient  to  it,  and  took  up  his  daily  cross  and 
followed  Jesus,  came  to  be  his  disciple,  was  taught 
by  him,  and  went  no  more  to  Oxford  for  learning, 
and  I  may  say  with  David,  the  Lord  made  him 

1  See    George   Fox,  by    Thomas    Hodgkin,    D.C.L.  :    Methuen   &    Co., 
1896. 


CHARLES   LLOYD   THE   QUAKER     n 

wiser  than  all  his  former  teachers.  He  stayed 
pretty  much  at  home  and  with  his  eldest  brother 
Charles  Lloyd  and  in  these  parts." 

Richard  Davies  says  that  he  went  with  Thomas 
Lloyd  to  visit  most  of  the  Justices  that  had  a  hand 
in  committing  Friends  to  prison.  They  called  on 
Lord  Herbert,  "and  although  he  did  not  agree  to 
their  liberty,  they  heard  that  he  sent  private  instruc- 
tions which  resulted  in  the  jailer  allowing  the 
Friends  to  go  to  an  empty  house  at  the  end  of 
the  town,  which  was  a  sweet  convenient  place  near 
the  fields,  without  any  keeper  over  them,  and  they 
had  the  liberty  of  the  town  and  to  go  where  they 
pleased  except  to  their  own  houses. 

"So  Charles  Lloyd  took  a  house  in  town  for 
him  and  his  family  to  live  in,  and  we  kept  our  meet- 
ings in  that  house  of  the  jailers  aforesaid  several 
years." 

It  seems  incredible  now,  but  it  is  a  fact  that  for 
ten  years  Charles  Lloyd  and  the  other  offenders  were 
prisoners,  although  after  half  that  time  had  elapsed 
their  condition  was  thus  improved.  In  this  house 
— in  the  "Rules,"  so  to  speak,  of  the  prison — his 
second  son,  Sampson  (the  first  Sampson  of  the 
family),  was  born,  on  February  26,  1664.  Later 
was  born  a  daughter,  Elizabeth,  who  eventually 
married  John  Pemberton,  of  Bennett's  Hill,  Bir- 
mingham. In  the  following  year  Elizabeth  Lloyd 
died.  She  was  buried  in  the  Friends'  burial-ground 
at  Cloddian  Cochion,  near  Welshpool. 

Meanwhile  Charles  Lloyd's  possessions  were 
put  under  prcemunire ;  his  cattle  were  sold,  and  his 
house  was  partially  destroyed.  At  last,  however, 
on  March  15,  1672,  Charles  II.  made  his  Declara- 
tion of  Indulgence,  suspending  the  execution  of 
all  penal  laws  in  ecclesiastical  matters,  and  491 
persons,  chiefly  Friends,  were  released. 


12     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

On  returning  to  Dolobran,  Charles  Lloyd,  whose 
property  seems  to  have  been  restored  to  him,  at 
once  enlarged  the  Hall  and  built  the  little  meeting- 
house that  still  stands,  where  some  years  later 
George  Fox  held  a  meeting.  Some  opposers  came 
in,  says  that  great  spiritual  man  in  his  Journal^ 
"  but  the  Lord's  power  brought  them  down." 

Persecution  was  by  no  means  over,  as  Richard 
Davies'  Autobiography  tells  us. 

In  1674-5  he  and  Thomas  Lloyd  held  a  meeting, 
at  which  the  latter  "  uttered  a  few  words  by  way 
of  defining  the  true  religion  and  what  the  true 
worship  was,  all  which  David  Maurice,  an  informer 
who  was  present,  approved  of  as  sound  and  accord- 
ing to  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  of  England,  yet 
notwithstanding  he  fined  T.  Lloyd  twenty  pound 
for  preaching  —  and  he  fined  the  house  twenty 
pounds,  and  five  shillings  a  piece  for  the  hearers. 
And  on  the  i6th  of  the  fourth  month  1675  he 
caused  to  be  driven  from  Thomas  Lloyd  four  cows 
and  a  mare,  all  worth  about  sixteen  pounds,  by 
two  of  his  servants, — these  were  lurking  near  the 
ground  about  two  hours  before  day  and  drove  away 
the  cattle  before  sunrise. 

"  About  the  same  time  Charles  Lloyd  of  Dolo- 
bran had  ten  young  beasts  taken  from  him  by  John 
Jones  of  Golynog,  an  attorney-at-law  who  was  that 
year  overseer  of  the  poor  of  the  parish  of  Myvod, 
together  with  the  petty  Constable,  &c.,  upon  a 
warrant  from  David  Maurice,  the  informer  before 
alluded  to,  for  preaching  within  the  liberties  of 
Welshpool  at  Cloddiecochion,  though  the  said 
Charles  Lloyd  was  not  at  that  place  that  day,  nor 
many  days  before,  or  after  at  any  meeting."1 

1  I  append  a  list,  drawn  up  by  Mr.  J.  Spinther  James,  of  charges  against 
Charles  Lloyd  after  his  liberation  : — 

1673.  Sept.  15,  at  Pool  (Welshpool)  he  was  "  presented  for  not  repayringe 
unto  his  p'ish  Church." 


CHARLES   LLOYD   THE   QUAKER     13 

Richard  Davies  also  gives  an  account  of  a 
disputation  between  the  Quakers  and  the  Church. 
He  writes  : — 

"About  the  year  1680  or  1681,  came  Dr.  William  Lloyd  to 
be  the  Bishop  of  this  Diocese.  Persecution  was  very  sharp 
and  severe  in  several  places  about  this  time  upon  account  of 
excommunication  and  the  statute  of  twenty  pound  a  month. 
But  this  new  bishop  thought  to  take  a  more  mild  way  to  work 
by  summoning  all  sorts  of  dissenters  to  discourse  with  him 
and  to  seek  to  persuade  them  to  turn  to  the  Church  of  England. 

"Charles  Lloyd  and  Thomas  Lloyd  discoursed  with  him, 
his  chaplains,  and  other  clergy,  so  called,  from  about  two  in 
the  afternoon  till  two  in  the  morning.  Afterwards  they  dis- 
coursed with  him  two  days  at  Lladvilling.  The  first  day  from 
about  two  in  the  afternoon  till  night,  and  the  next  day  from 
about  ten  in  the  morning  till  an  hour  in  the  night,  publicly  in 
the  town  hall.  The  first  day  at  Pool  our  Friends  Charles 
Lloyd  and  Thomas  Lloyd  gave  their  reasons  for  separation. 
In  none  of  the  three  days  would  the  bishop  and  his  clergy 
defend  their  own  principles  or  refute  ours,  but  only  held  the 
three  days  on  the  general  principles  of  Christendom,  and  the 
apostles'  examples  of  water-baptism,  and  once  a  small  touch 
at  the  bread  and  wine.  Thomas  Lloyd  held  the  last  day  our 
reasons  why  we  separated  from  the  Church  of  England,  which 
were : — 

"  (i)  Because  their  worship  was  not  a  gospel  worship. 

"  (2)  Because  their  ministry  was  no  gospel  ministry. 

"  (3)  Because  their  ordinances  were  no  gospel  ordinances. 

1675.  He  had  ten  young  beasts  taken  from  him  upon  a  warrant  from 
David  Maurice  of  Penybont.  (Davies'  Autobiography.} 

1678.  Oct.  u,at  Llanfyllin,  the  High  Constables  of  the  Hundred  of  Pool 
presented,  amongst  others,  Charles  Lloyd  of  Dolobran  and  Thomas  Lloyd 
his  brother  as  desenters  from  the  Church  of  England. 

1680.  Sept.  2,  at  the  Great  Sessions  held  at  Montgomery,  Charles  Lloyd, 
and  Thomas  Lloyd  and  his  Wife,  were  presented  as  absentees  from  Church. 

1681.  August  29,  Great  Sessions  at  Llanfyllin,  in  the  list  of  Quakers 
presented  is  ' '  Charles  Lloyd,  one  of  the  Balieffes  of  Pool."    He  had  evidently 
been  made  a  Bailiff  to  vex  him. 

1682.  April  24,  Great  Session  at  Pool,  Charles  Lloyd  was  presented  for 
not  coming  to  Church  ;  also  1682,  Oct.  8  ;  also  1683,  August  27. 

1685-6.  March  8,  at  Poole,  High  Constable  of  the  Lower  Division  of  the 
Hundred  of  Llanfyllin  present  Charles  Lloyd  and  his  wife  for  not  coming 
to  Church.  This  is  the  last  mention  of  Charles  Lloyd  in  the  Montgomery- 
shire Jail  Files  as  extracted  by  Richard  Williams,  F.R.Hist.S.  The 
sentences  or  Judgments  of  the  Courts  are  not  quoted. 


i4     THE    LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

"  But  they  would  not  join  with  him  to  prove  any  of  them 
though  often  solicited  thereunto.  Friends  being  sufferers 
must  submit  to  all  disadvantages,  for  they  had  not  any  notice 
beforehand  of  what  matters  they  should  argue  till  they  came 
to  the  place  of  dispute  and  the  last  day  they  forced  Thomas 
Lloyd  to  about  twenty-eight  Syllogisms,  all  written  down  as 
they  disputed,  to  be  answered  extempore;  and  the  Bishop 
said  he  did  not  expect  so  much  could  be  said  by  any  on  that 
subject  on  so  little  warning,  and  he  said  that  he  expected  not 
to  find  so  much  civility  from  the  Quakers.  He  highly  com- 
mended Thomas  Lloyd  and  our  Friends  came  off  with  them 
very  well." 

This  Bishop  Lloyd  (who  was  no  relation  of  our 
family)  was  destined  to  have  spiritual  difficulties  of 
his  own  ;  for  he  was  one  of  the  seven  bishops  who 
were  imprisoned  in  the  Tower  for  conscience'  sake 
in  1688.  Richard  Davies  writes  : — 

"Then  I  remembered  that  which  I  spoke  to  the  Bishop 
at  his  Palace  in  the  year  1681 — What  if  another  Prince 
should  arise  that  would  impose  something  upon  him  that 
he  could  not  do  for  conscience'  sake  ?  And  that  year  when 
at  London  I  went  to  visit  him  in  his  troubles,  and  he  said 
to  me,  '  I  often  thought  of  your  words  and  I  could  wish  I 
were  in  Pennsylvania  now  myself.' " 

Charles  Lloyd  died  at  Birmingham  in  1698, 
aged  only  sixty,  while  on  a  visit  to  his  son-in-law 
John  Pemberton.  He  had  been  twice  married.  His 
second  wife,  Ann  Lawrence,  who  was  one  of  the 
six  Friends  imprisoned  in  1662,  survived  him  nearly 
ten  years.  They  were  both  interred,  as  were  also 
his  daughter  and  son-in-law  (John  Pemberton  and 
his  wife),  in  the  old  Friends'  burial-ground  in  Bull 
Lane,  leading  off  Monmouth  Street,  now  Colmore 
Row,  Birmingham.  In  1851,  when  this  burial- 
ground  became  extinct  through  the  operations  of 
the  Great  Western  Railway  in  the  making  of  their 
line,  the  coffins  of  these  past  witnesses  of  troubled 


CHARLES    LLOYD    THE   QUAKER     15 

times,  together  with  those  of  others,  were  dis- 
entombed and  carefully  removed  to  the  Friends' 
burial-ground  in  Bull  Street,  which,  in  1803,  Samuel 
Galton  helped  them  to  acquire. 

My  cousin,  the  late  George  B.  Lloyd,  at  the 
request  of  his  father,  visited  Bull  Lane  graveyard 
during  the  process  of  exhumation,  and  had  in  his 
hands  the  fine  skull  of  the  long-deceased  Charles 
Lloyd  of  Dolobran,  disturbed  for  the  first  time 
after  lying  there  153  years.  He  told  me  this  at 
the  time,  and  again  when  I  commenced  to  write 
this  narrative. 

In  this  graveyard  were  discovered  also  the 
remains  of  Mary  Gill,  daughter  of  Charles  Lloyd's 
second  son,  Sampson  Lloyd.  The  colour  of  her 
rich  brown  hair  had  apparently  remained  unchanged 
through  all  that  long  period  ;  and  Dickinson  Sturge, 
who  had  become  possessed  of  a  portion,  showed 
it  to  me.  I  also  visited  the  graveyard  soon  after 
these  bodies  had  been  removed,  and  noticed  a  coffin 
embedded  in  the  deep  red  sand,  wherein  the  body 
of  a  woman  lay.  The  lid  having  become  detached, 
I  could  see  within,  and  it  was  evident  that  after 
death  her  hair  had  continued  to  grow  till  it  extended 
beneath  her  feet  and  practically  filled  the  coffin. 
I  learnt  afterwards  that  other  cases  of  this  sort 
have  been  noticed  and  recorded — that  the  human 
hair  frequently  continues  to  grow  after  the  death 
of  a  person,  and  endures  when  the  flesh  has 
crumbled  into  dust. 

A  few  of  the  coffins  had  brass  plates  upon  them, 
with  names  and  dates  quite  decipherable  ;  but,  in 
many  cases,  the  wood  had  completely  perished  so 
as  to  crumble  when  touched,  revealing  the  bones 
and  dust  within. 

From  this  burial-ground  were  also  removed  the 
remains  of  Richard  Parkes,  who  by  the  marriage  of 


1 6     THE   LLOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 

his  daughter  to  the  second  Sampson  Lloyd  became 
closely  associated  with  the  family  in  the  eighteenth 
century — but  of  him  more  anon. 

Before  leaving  altogether  the  subject  of  the 
Lloyds'  contributions  to  the  rise  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  I  would  add  that  Thomas  Lloyd  went  to 
Pennsylvania  as  a  friend  of  William  Penn  and  acted 
as  Deputy  Governor  of  that  colony  when  Penn 
visited  England.  He  left  no  male  descendant,  and 
therefore  does  not  figure  in  the  main  stream  of  this 
record  ;  but  the  late  Horace  J.  Smith,  of  Phila- 
delphia, who  resided  for  a  while  at  Moseley,  used 
often  to  remind  me  that  Thomas  Lloyd  was  his 
ancestor,  and  he  was  very  proud  of  the  fact. 

From  a  paper  drawn  up  by  Mr.  J.  Spinther 
James  I  take  some  particulars  of  Thomas  Lloyd's 
career.  He  suffered  imprisonment  in  1663,  but  was 
soon  released.  In  1664  he  was  arrested  with  others 
while  quietly  travelling  on  the  highway  ;  and  for 
refusing  to  take  the  oath  of  Allegiance  and  Supre- 
macy, was  again  imprisoned,  and  detained  for  eight 
years — that  is,  until  1672 — when  the  king  ordered 
"  that  all  manner  of  penal  laws  on  matters  eccle- 
siastical against  whatever  sort  of  Nonconformists 
or  recusants  should  be  from  that  day  suspended." 
A  short  time  before  his  incarceration,  he  had 
married  Mary,  daughter  of  Gilbert  Jones  of  Welsh- 
pool.  After  his  release  he  resided  at  Plasmawr, 
near  Welshpool,  and  was  much  harassed  for  his 
Nonconformity. 

On  March  7,  1675,  David  Maurice,  Justice  of 
the  Peace,  with  armed  men,  visited  a  Friends'  meet- 
ing at  Cloddian  Cochion,  where  Thomas  Lloyd  was 
speaking  :  the  Justice  fined  Thomas  Lloyd  ^20, 
the  House  ^20,  and  each  person  present  55. 

On  April  5,  1675,  at  the  Great  Sessions  at  Pool, 
Thomas  Lloyd,  among  many  others,  was  presented 


CHARLES   LLOYD   THE   QUAKER     17 

for  not  coming  to  church,  and  the  stock  of  his  farm 
was  distrained  upon. 

On  October  n,  1678,  he  was  presented  at  Llan- 
fyllin  on  the  same  charge.  At  the  Great  Sessions 
at  Montgomery,  September  2,  1680,  he  and  his  wife 
were  presented  as  absentees  from  church.  This  is 
the  last  mention  of  him  in  the  Jail  Files. 

Thomas  Lloyd,  accompanied  by  his  family,  in 
1683  took  passage  in  the  ship  America,  and,  after 
a  voyage  of  eight  weeks,  landed  in  Philadelphia, 
which  then  consisted  of  three  or  four  little  cottages, 
nearly  surrounded  by  a  dense  forest.  His  devoted 
wife  died  soon  after  their  arrival,  and  was  the  first 
interred  in  the  Friends'  burying  ground. 

Thomas  Lloyd's  history  in  America,  and  the 
service  he  rendered  there  to  the  establishment  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty,  is  well  known  and 
much  revered  and  cherished  on  both  sides  of  the 
Atlantic. 

The  following  account  of  Thomas  Lloyd  was 
drawn  up,  with  the  admirable  simple  eloquence  of 
Friends,  by  the  monthly  meeting  of  Haverford  in 
Pennsylvania,  on  Thomas  Lloyd's  death  in  1694. 

"  The  love  of  God,  and  the  regard  we  have  to  the  Blessed 
Truth,  constrain  us  to  give  forth  this  testimony  concerning 
our  dear  friend  Thomas  Lloyd,  many  of  us  having  had  long 
acquaintance  with  him,  both  in  Wales,  where  he  formerly 
lived,  and  also  in  Pennsylvania,  where  he  finished  his  course, 
and  laid  down  his  head  in  peace  with  the  Lord ;  and  is  at 
rest  and  joy  with  Him  for  evermore. 

"  He  was  by  birth  of  them  who  are  called  the  gentry,  his 
father  being  a  man  of  a  considerable  estate  and  of  great 
esteem  in  his  time,  of  an  ancient  house  and  estate  called 
Dolobran,  in  Montgomeryshire  in  Wales.  He  was  brought 
up  at  the  most  noted  schools,  and  from  thence  went  to  one 
of  the  universities;  and  because  of  his  superior  natural  and 
acquired  parts,  many  of  account  in  the  world  had  an  eye 
of  regard  towards  him.  Being  offered  degrees  and  places 

B 


1 8     THE   LLQYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

of  preferment,  he  refused  them  all;  the  Lord  beginning  his 
work  in  him,  and  causing  a  measure  of  his  light  to  shine 
out  of  darkness,  in  his  heart,  which  gave  him  a  sight  of 
the  vain  forms,  customs,  and  traditions  of  the  schools  and 
colleges.  And  hearing  of  a  poor  despised  people  called 
Quakers,  he  went  to  hear  them,  and  the  Lord's  power  reached 
unto  him  and  came  over  him,  to  the  humbling  and  bowing 
his  heart  and  spirit;  so  that  he  was  convinced  of  God's 
everlasting  Truth,  and  received  it  in  the  love  of  it,  and 
was  made  willing  like  meek  Moses,  to  choose  rather  afflic- 
tion with  the  people  of  the  Lord,  than  the  honours,  prefer- 
ments, and  riches  of  this  world. 

"  The  earthly  wisdom  came  to  be  of  no  reputation  with 
him,  but  he  became  a  fool,  both  to  it  and  his  former  asso- 
ciates, and,  through  self-denial  and  taking  up  the  daily  cross 
of  Christ  Jesus,  which  crucified  his  natural  will,  affections, 
and  pleasures,  he  came  to  be  a  scholar  in  Christ's  school, 
and  to  learn  the  true  wisdom  which  is  from  above.  Thus, 
by  departing  from  the  vanities  and  iniquities  of  the  world, 
and  following  the  leadings,  guidance,  and  instructions  of 
the  Divine  Light,  grace,  and  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  came  more 
and  more  to  have  an  understanding  in  the  mysteries  of 
God's  kingdom,  and  was  made  an  able  minister  of  the 
everlasting  Gospel  of  peace  and  salvation ;  his  acquired  parts 
being  sanctified  to  the  service  of  Truth. 

"  His  sound  and  effectual  ministry,  his  godly  conversa- 
tion, meek  and  lamb-like  spirit,  great  patience,  temperance, 
humilit}',  and  slowness  to  wrath  ;  his  love  to  the  brethren  ; 
his  godly  care  in  the  church  of  Christ,  that  all  things  might 
be  kept  sweet,  savoury,  and  in  good  order;  his  helping 
hand  to  the  weak,  and  gentle  admonitions,  we  are  fully 
satisfied,  have  a  seal  and  witness  in  the  hearts  of  all  faithful 
friends  who  knew  him,  both  in  the  land  of  his  nativity,  and 
in  these  American  parts. 

"  We  may  in  truth  say,  he  sought  not  himself,  nor  the 
riches  of  this  world,  but  his  eye  was  to  that  which  is  ever- 
lasting, being  given  up  to  spend  and  be  spent  for  the  Truth 
and  the  sake  of  Friends. 

"  He  never  turned  his  back  on  the  Truth,  nor  was  weary 
in  his  travels  Sion-wards,  but  remained  a  sound  pillar  in 
the  spiritual  building.  He  had  many  disputes  with  the 
clergy  and  some  called  peers,  in  England,  and  also  suffered 
imprisonments,  and  much  loss  of  outward  substance,  to  the 


CHARLES    LLOYD   THE   QUAKER     19 

honour  of  Truth,  and  stopping  in  measure  the  mouths  ot 
gainsayers  and  persecutors.  Yet  these  exercises  and  trials 
in  the  land  of  his  nativity,  which  he  sustained  through  the 
ability  God  gave  him,  were  small,  and  not  to  be  compared 
to  the  many  and  great  exercises,  griefs,  and  sorrows  he  met 
with  in  Pennsylvania,  from  that  miserable  apostate  George 
Keith,  and  his  deluded  company.  O,  the  revilings,  the  great 
provocations,  the  bitter  and  wicked  language,  and  rude 
behaviour  which  the  Lord  gave  him  patience  to  bear  and 
overcome.  He  reviled  not  again,  nor  took  any  advantage, 
but  loved  his  enemies,  and  prayed  for  them  that  despite- 
fully  abused  him. 

"  His  love  to  the  Lord,  his  truth,  and  people,  was  sincere 
to  the  last.  He  was  taken  with  a  malignant  fever,  the  5th 
of  the  /th  month,  1694;  and,  though  his  bodily  pain  was 
great,  he  bore  it  with  much  patience.  Not  long  before  his 
departure,  some  friends  being  with  him,  he  said :  '  Friends, 
I  love  you  all,  I  am  going  from  you,  and  1  die  in  unity  and 
love  with  all  faithful  friends.  I  have  fought  a  good  fight, 
and  kept  the  faith,  which  stands  not  in  the  wisdom  of  words, 
but  in  the  power  of  God :  I  have  fought,  not  for  strife  and 
contention,  but  for  the  Grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
the  simplicity  of  the  Gospel.  I  lay  down  my  head  in  peace, 
and  desire  you  all  may  do  so.  Friends,  farewell  all.' 

"  He  further  said  to  Griffith  Owen,  a  friend  then  intend- 
ing for  England :  '  I  desire  thee  to  mind  my  love  to  friends 
in  England,  if  thou  lives  to  go  over  to  see  them;  I  have 
lived  in  unity  with  them,  and  do  end  my  days  in  unity  with 
them;  and  desire  the  Lord  to  keep  them  all  faithful  unto 
the  end,  in  the  simplicity  of  the  Gospel.' 

"On  the  loth  day  of  the  7th  month  aforesaid,  being  the 
6th  day  of  his  sickness,  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  remove  him 
from  the  many  trials,  temptations,  sorrows,  and  troubles  of 
this  world,  to  the  kingdom  of  everlasting  joy  and  peace; 
but  the  remembrance  of  his  innocent  life  and  meek  spirit 
lives  with  us,  and  his  memorial  is,  and  will  remain  to  be, 
sweet  and  comfortable  to  the  faithful.  He  was  buried  in 
friends'  burial  ground  in  Philadelphia,  aged  about  55  years, 
having  been  several  years  president  and  deputy  governor 
of  Pennsylvania." 


CHAPTER    III 

THE   LLOYDS   COME   TO    BIRMINGHAM 

The  first  Sampson  Lloyd — The  Conventicle  Act — Birmingham  and 
Dissent — Our  first  ironmasters  —  The  Lloyd  slitting-mill  —  The 
adventures  of  Foley — A  fiddle  leads  to  wealth — Fuel  and  iron — 
Friends  at  the  slitting-mill — and  at  an  old  iron  furnace — Robert 
Plot  describes  the  making  of  iron — Protection  advocated  in  1783 — 
Richard  Reynolds,  Free  Trader 

WE  now  turn  to  the  history  of  the  first  Sampson 
Lloyd,  the  son  who  was  born  to  Charles  Lloyd 
during  his  imprisonment  in  1664,  since  it  was  he 
who  carried  on  the  line.  But  first  I  should  say  that 
his  eldest  brother  Charles  remained  at  Dolobran 
Hall,  to  which  he  made  many  pleasing-  additions, 
and  established  an  iron-work  nearby  in  1719.  Why 
he  was  so  venturesome  as  to  commence  making  iron 
so  far  from  a  market  for  its  produce  is  not  recorded, 
for  it  is  said  that  some  of  it  had  to  be  carted  as 
far  as  South  Staffordshire  to  find  a  sale.  The 
venture  probably  started  when  iron  was  at  a  high 
price,  but  it  became  unprofitable,  and  he  was  involved 
in  monetary  difficulties.  Eventually,  in  1742,  he 
removed  to  Birmingham.  A  Minute  of  a  Welsh 
yearly  meeting  held  at  Bridgenorth,  which  alludes 
to  these  difficulties,  "  recommends  Charles  Lloyd 
with  his  wife  to  the  Friends  in  Birmingham  in 
sincere  love  and  fellowship,  desiring  that  the 
Almighty  may  crown  the  evening  of  their  days  here 
with  peace,  and  hereafter  receive  them  into  the 
arms  of  His  eternal  and  unspeakable  mercy."  He 


LLOYDS   COME   TO    BIRMINGHAM     21 

died  in  1747  or  1749,  and  he  and  his  wife  were  both 
buried  in  the  Birmingham  Friends'  burial-ground. 
None  of  the  Birmingham  Lloyds  are  descended 
from  him.  Both  his  sons,  Charles  Exton  and 
James,  died  unmarried.  It  was  James  who  sold 
Dolobran  in  1780,  the  estate  thus  after  many  genera- 
tions passing  from  the  family.  It  was,  however, 
bought  back  in  1878  by  the  late  Sampson  Samuel 
Lloyd. 

Sampson  Lloyd  the  first  married  twice.  His 
first  wife,  Elizabeth  Good,  bore  him  four  daughters  ; 
his  second  wife,  Mary  Crowley,  four  sons  and  two 
daughters,  of  whom  Sampson,  the  third  son,  is,  to 
us,  the  most  interesting,  for  it  was  he  who  built 
"Farm."  But  first  a  little  more  about  his  father, 
Sampson  Lloyd  the  original. 

It  was  at  the  age  of  thirty- four,  and  in  the 
same  year  that  his  father  died  (1698),  that  Sampson 
Lloyd  migrated  to  Birmingham.  Like  his  father, 
he  was  a  Friend  ;  and,  like  his  father,  although  less 
severely,  he  had  been  continuously  persecuted  in 
Wales.  He  was  attracted  to  Birmingham  because 
his  brother-in-law,  John  Pemberton,  lived  there ; 
but  he  also  chose  it  to  escape  the  harassing  and 
ruthless  legal  penalties  of  the  Conventicle  Act. 
Birmingham,  moreover,  was  always  friendly  to 
Dissent. 

The  pains  and  penalties  to  which,  by  Acts  of 
Parliament,  the  followers  of  George  Fox  were 
rendered  liable,  and  the  harsh  and  ruthless  manner 
in  which  those  punishments  were  enforced,  had 
already  induced  thousands  of  Welsh  people  to  emi- 
grate to  Pennsylvania.  The  first  Sampson  Lloyd 
might  have  followed  his  uncle  Thomas  to  that  early 
English  settlement.  In  Birmingham,  which  he 
chose  instead,  and  which  was  then  in  its  infancy, 
he  soon  found  scope  for  his  energies  and  capital. 


22     THE   LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

He  started  business  as  an  iron  merchant  in  Edg- 
baston  Street. 

The  town  owed  much  of  its  early  intellectual 
eminence  and  progressive  spirit  to  its  not  having 
been  a  corporate  borough,  for  other  superior  men, 
stimulated  like  Sampson  Lloyd  by  the  desire  for 
religious  liberty,  also  settled  in  it.  Those  who 
came  were  consequently  not  affected  by  the  "  Five 
Mile  Act"  of  Charles  II.,  which  debarred  Noncon- 
formist clergymen  from  coming  within  five  miles  of 
any  borough.  The  very  atmosphere  of  the  place 
soon  seemed  to  favour  religious  liberty  and  intel- 
lectual freedom. 

Sampson  Lloyd,  after  a  profitable  career  as  an 
ironmaster  in  the  firm  of  "Sampson  Lloyd  and 
Sons,"  died  on  January  3,  1724,  aged,  like  his 
father,  sixty.  His  will  shows  him  to  have  been 
possessed  of  a  large  property.  It  states  that  he  had 
purchased  the  house  in  which  he  was  then  living  for 
^400.  This  was  No.  56  Edgbaston  Street,  which, 
though  no  longer  a  dwelling-house,  still  stands  and 
retains  many  of  its  old  characteristics,  including  a 
fine  oak  staircase.  An  inspection  of  the  property 
makes  me  doubt  if,  when  it  was  acquired  for 
^400,  the  present  house  existed.  It  must  have  cost 
several  times  that  sum  to  build.  However  this  may 
be,  Sampson  Lloyd's  son  Charles  came  into  posses- 
sion, and  lived  there  until  he  moved  to  Bingley 
House.  Sampson  Lloyd  also  held  freehold  property 
in  Stourbridge  and  had  a  residence  at  Lea,  near 
Leominster,  Herefordshire.  His  executors  were  his 
widow,  his  son  Sampson,  John  Gulson  (a  son-in- 
law),  and  John  Pemberton,  his  brother-in-law. 

My  cousin,  the  late  G.  B.  Lloyd,  who  prompted 
me  to  undertake  this  narrative,  saying,  "I  know 
you  can  do  it,  and  it  is  worth  doing,"  wished  it  to 
contain  some  account  of  the  slitting-mill  which 


LLOYDS   COME   TO    BIRMINGHAM     23 

Sampson  Lloyd  and  his  son,  the  second  Sampson 
Lloyd,  erected  at  the  bottom  of  Bradford  Street, 
near  the  centre  of  the  town,  the  motive  power  for 
which  was  obtained  from  the  river  Rea.  To  do 
this,  it  is  necessary  to  go  back  to  the  time  when 
young  Foley  of  Stourbridge  went  to  Sweden  and 
learnt  what  a  slitting-mill  was.  The  story  is  an 
interesting  one. 

It  was  early  in  the  seventeenth  century — when 
the  neighbourhood  of  Stourbridge  was  the  centre  of 
the  nail-making  industry  of  England — that  Sweden 
became  a  discomforting  competitor  to  those  en- 
gaged in  this  industry  ;  as  nails  made  there  were 
sold  in  England  at  prices  with  which  Stourbridge 
makers  could  not  compete.  This  caused  young 
Foley  of  Stourbridge  to  resolve  to  find  out,  if  pos- 
sible, how  their  underselling  was  accomplished.  He 
accordingly  started  for  Sweden,  but  with  so  little 
money  that  it  was  exhausted  on  his  arrival  there, 
and  he  was  left  (not  unlike  Oliver  Goldsmith  in  his 
travels  in  Holland)  with  the  solitary  but  somewhat 
lively  resource  of  a  fiddle.  He  was,  however,  an 
excellent  musician,  as  well  as  a  pleasant  fellow, 
and  he  successfully  begged  and  fiddled  his  way 
to  the  celebrated  Dannemora  Mines,  near  Upsala. 

He  readily  ingratiated  himself  with  the  iron- 
workers ;  and,  having  for  some  time  carefully  ob- 
served their  machinery,  he  believed  he  had  found 
out  their  methods.  He  therefore  returned  to  Stour- 
bridge, full  of  hope  that  he  had  acquired  the  secret 
of  the  construction  of  a  slitting-mill,  by  means  of 
which  plates  of  wrought  iron  could  be  slit  into  nail- 
rods.  So  strongly  persuaded  was  he  of  success  that 
a  gentleman  was  induced  to  advance  the  requisite 
money ;  but,  alas  !  to  the  great  disappointment  of 
all  concerned,  the  machinery  failed  to  slit  the 
iron. 


24     THE   LLOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 

Foley  therefore  set  out  for  Sweden  a  second 
time,  receiving  on  his  arrival  a  joyful  welcome  from 
the  Swedish  workmen.  So  gladly  indeed  did  they 
receive  the  returned  fiddler,  that,  with  a  disastrous 
confidence,  to  make  sure  of  him  they  lodged  him 
in  the  very  citadel  of  the  business,  the  slitting-mill 
itself,  looking  on  him,  in  their  simple-minded, 
uncommercial  good-fellowship,  as  a  mere  fiddler, 
and  nothing  more.  He  remained  long  enough  to 
ascertain  where  his  mistakes  lay,  and  then  again 
disappeared.  On  his  return  to  Stourbridge  he 
succeeded  in  having  machinery  constructed  that 
perfectly  performed  the  work  required.  There- 
after he  not  only  supplied  the  nail-makers  with 
the  nail-rods  they  wanted,  but  also  made  a  fortune 
in  doing  it.  It  is  pleasant  and  gratifying  to  record 
that  while  amassing  wealth  himself,  he  was  not 
unmindful  of  the  needs  of  others  ;  for  he  invariably 
and  generously  aided  all  the  plans  of  benevolence 
set  on  foot  in  his  neighbourhood. 

Richard  Foley  and  all  the  early  Foleys  were 
Puritans.  He  (the  founder  of  the  family)  died  in 
1657,  aged  seventy-seven.  He  was  succeeded  by 
his  son  Thomas,  an  equally  clever  man  of  business, 
who  successfully  carried  on  the  manufacture,  and, 
as  the  result,  was  able  to  purchase  a  very  fine 
Worcestershire  estate.  Upon  this  he  lived,  a 
peerage  having  been  granted  to  the  family  in  the 
reign  of  Charles  II.  The  main  line  of  the  Foley 
family,  however,  eventually  becoming  extinct,  the 
property  was  sold  to  the  wealthy  Earl  of  Dudley 
for  ,£900,000. 

The  question  may  arise,  Does  not  this  prosperity 
exceed  the  bounds  not  only  of  probability  but  of 
possibility?  How  could  any  one  possessed  of 
nothing  but  a  fiddle  make  so  much,  with  his  son, 
out  of  a  slitting-mill,  that  the  latter  could  leave  an 


LLOYDS   COME   TO    BIRMINGHAM     25 

estate  worth  ,£900,000  ?  This  seems  to  be  a  truth 
stranger  than  fiction.  But  Dud  Dudley,  in  his 
Metallum  Martis,  published  in  1665,  throws  some 
light  upon  it  when  he  says  :  "  Wood  in  these  parts 
[in  1663]  is  almost  exhausted,  although  it  were  of 
late  a  mighty  wood-land  country."  The  Foleys 
had  this  abundant  and  cheap  supply,  and  so  made 
their  great  fortunes,  and  now  in  1663  there  was 
next  to  none  left  for  others  to  do  the  same.  Dudley 
adds  that  there  "were  a  supernumerary  number  of 
smiths,  near  twenty  thousand,"  who  had  doubtless 
been  using  the  Foleys'  iron  as  fast  as  they  could 
make  it,  the  nails  being  sent  to  all  parts  of  the 
country  and  also  exported.  But  in  1663  a  time 
of  depression  followed,  so  that  the  same  writer  adds  : 
"Twenty  thousand  smiths  or  naylors,  at  the  least, 
dwelling  near  these  parts  and  taking  of  prentices 
have  made  their  trade  so  bad,  that  many  of  them 
are  ready  to  starve  and  steal  ...  so  that  it  is 
wished  [for  them]  not  to  take  so  many  prentices." 

Foley  drove  his  slitting-mill  by  water,  the  only 
suitable  mechanical  power  then  known.  Sampson 
Lloyd  and  his  son  and  partner  (Sampson  Lloyd  the 
second),  and  afterwards  his  grandsons,  derived  their 
water  power  from  the  river  Rea.  In  a  plan  of 
Birmingham  of  the  year  1731,  Lloyd's  slitting  and 
corn  mills  are  shown  with  access  from  Digbeth  by 
Lower  Mill  Lane  ;  another  plan  of  Birmingham,  of 
the  date  of  1751,  displays  the  slitting-mill  with  a 
mill  pool  and  a  large  garden. 

The  following  description  of  the  slitting-mill  is 
given  in  a  letter  dated  July  31,  1755,  written  by 
some  London  visitors  to  the  Pembertons  : — 

"Next  Morning  (Monday)  [July  1755]  we  went  to  see  Mr. 

L 's  [Mr.   Lloyd's]  Slitting  Mill,  which  is  too  curious  to 

pass  by  without  notice.     Its  use  is,  to  prepare  Iron  for  making 
Nails.     The  Process  is  as  follows  : — They  take  a  large  Iron 


26     THE    LLOYDS   OF    BIRMINGHAM 

Bar,  and  with  a  huge  Pair  of  Shears,  work'd  by  a  Water- 
wheel,  cut  it  into  lengths  of  about  a  Foot  each ;  these  Pieces 
are  put  into  a  Furnace,  and  heated  red-hot,  then  taken  out  and 
put  between  a  Couple  of  Steel  Rollers,  which  draw  them  to 
the  length  of  about  four  feet,  and  the  breadth  of  about  three 
inches;  thence  they  are  immediately  put  between  two  other 
Rollers,  which  having  a  number  of  sharp  Edges  fitting  each 
other  like  Scissors,  cut  the  Bar  as  it  passes  thro'  into  about 
eight  square  Rods ;  after  the  Rods  are  cold,  they  are  tied  up 
in  Bundles  for  the  Nailor's  use.  We  din'd  and  spent  the 
Evening  (after  walking  again  to  Dudson)  at  Mr.  Lloyd's." 

The  Pembertons'  London  friends  having  visited 
the  slitting-mill,  were  taken  the  next  day  into 
Staffordshire  to  see  ironstone  converted  into  pig 
iron,  as  one  of  the  interesting  local  industries,  and 
the  following  is  their  account  of  it  : — 

"  Next  day  (Wednesday)  we  went  to  see  an  Iron  Furnace  at 
a  small  distance  from  Birmingham  (at  Hamstead  near  Perry 
Barr  on  the  River  Tame),  where  the  iron  ore  is  smelted  and 
run  into  pigs.  The  furnace  is  built  like  a  lime-kiln,  and  kept 
continually  burning.  The  iron  stone  or  ore  being  mixed  with 
a  quantity  of  charcoal,  is  put  in  at  the  top,  when  falling 
on  other  parts  of  the  same  kind  already  burning,  the  charcoal 
catches  the  fire,  and,  as  it  burns,  sinks  lower  in  the  furnace 
with  the  ore;  as  it  descends,  the  fire  burns  more  fiercely, 
being  continually  blown  by  two  pair  of  monstrous  bellows, 
which  moving  alternately  by  means  of  a  water-wheel,  throw 
in  a  continued  stream  of  air,  which  increasing  the  fire  in  the 
charcoal,  and  the  iron  stone  being  mixed  with  it,  it  melts  away 
into  a  proper  receiver,  and  the  dross  runs  from  it  in  streams 
of  liquid  fire.  When  a  sufficient  quantity  is  thus  fluxed,  the 
metal  is  let  out  into  a  wide  frame  in  the  ground,  filled  with 
sand,  which  is  hollow'd  into  trenches  of  the  shape  of  the  pigs 
of  iron,  and  many  pigs  are  cast  together  joining  to  a  long 
middle-piece,  call'd  the  sow." 

The  plan  of  smelting  iron  thus  described  is 
very  similar  to  that  named  by  Robert  Plot  in 
his  Natural  History  of  Staffordshire,  published  at 
Oxford  in  1686  ;  and  as  the  second  Sampson  Lloyd 


LLOYDS   COME   TO    BIRMINGHAM     27 

and  his  sons  were  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
iron  before  they  became  bankers,  and  some  of 
their  descendants  have  carried  on  this  business  ever 
since,  it  may  be  admissible  to  give  a  further  short 
description  of  the  mode  of  making  iron  for  many 
years  before  they  commenced  its  manufacture  early 
in  the  eighteenth  century. 

Plot  describes  the  iron  ore  as  being  calcined 
and  then  thrown  into  the  furnace  with  "charcole," 
a  basket  of  ore,  and  then  a  basket  of  charcoal, 
"when  by  two  vast  pairs  of  bellows  placed  behind 
the  furnace  and  compressed  alternately  by  a  large 
wheel  turned  by  water,  the  fire  is  made  so  intense, 
that  after  3  days  time  the  metal  will  begin  to 
run,  still  increasing,"  he  says,  u until  at  length 
in  14  nights  time  it  is  made  so  fluid  by  the 
violence  of  the  fire  that  it  not  only  runs  to  the 
utmost  distance  of  the  furrows  but  stands  boiling 
in  them." 

Plot  also  mentions  the  still  more  primitive  mode 
of  manufacture  when  men  worked  at  the  bellows 
with  their  feet,  a  great  amount  of  manual  labour 
being  expended  with  very  little  iron  as  the  result, 
and  upon  which  the  water  power  made  use  of  at 
Hampstead  was  a  great  advance. 

Plot  then  describes  the  further  processes  :  how 
the  iron  is  re-melted  and  compressed  and  beaten, 
and  brought  "  to  the  great  hammer  raised  by  the 
motion  of  a  water-wheel,"  and  then  after  re-heat- 
ings and  beatings  it  is  "  wrought  under  the  hammer 
into  such  sizes  as  they  think  fittest  for  sale."  Some 
of  the  iron  smelted  at  the  furnace  at  Hampstead 
would  no  doubt  be  purchased  by  the  Lloyds  for  their 
charcoal  forges  at  Burton-on-Trent  and  Powick. 
The  Powick  works  were  under  the  management  of 
Nehemiah,  the  eldest  son  of  the  second  Sampson 
Lloyd  by  Rachel  Champion,  his  second  wife. 


28     THE   LLOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 

He  died  unmarried  and  left  his  Warwickshire 
property  to  his  brother,  Charles  Lloyd,  the 
banker. 

That  the  Lloyds,  and  others  in  the  trade, 
were  able  to  command  a  high  price  for  their  iron 
in  1757  may  be  gathered  from  an  advertisement 
which  appeared  in  that  year.  It  was  headed, 
"The  High  Price  of  Iron,"  and  informed  the 
public  that  a  subscription  had  been  opened  at 
the  Swan  in  Birmingham  "for  presenting  a  petition 
to  Parliament  for  the  Importation  of  Bar  Iron 
from  America,  Duty  free,  to  all  Ports  of  England  ; 
and  that  a  general  meeting  of  the  Subscribers 
will  be  held  at  the  said  Swan  on  Thursday 
next  at  two  o'clock."  Probably  other  unrecorded 
meetings  were  held  as  occasion  required,  and 
were  the  forerunners  of  the  quarterly  meetings  of 
ironmasters  which  are  now  held  in  Birmingham, 
attended  by  ironmasters  from  all  parts  of  the 
kingdom. 

The  price  of  iron  was  then,  as  now,  alternately 
high  and  low,  and  consequently  profitable  or  un- 
profitable to  the  manufacturer,  but  in  either  case 
it  contributed  to  the  revenue.  This  was  pointed 
out  in  1783  by  Richard  Reynolds,  the  friend  of 
Sampson  Lloyd  the  third,  in  a  letter  to  Lord 
Sheffield,  expressing  the  pleasure  it  gave  him  to 
find  that  his  argument  met  with  his  lordship's 
approbation — namely,  that  the  making  of  iron  in 
England  brought  to  the  revenue  more  than  six 
pounds  per  annum  for  each  man  employed.  Thus 
the  Lloyds  of  Birmingham  had  the  satisfaction 
not  only  of  giving  employment  and  providing 
the  means  of  honest  livelihood  to  those  they 
employed,  but  of  contributing  to  the  country's 
revenue. 

Nehemiah  Lloyd  appears  to  have  been   a  very 


LLOYDS   COME   TO    BIRMINGHAM     29 

active  partner  in  the  Lloyds'  iron  business.  From 
some  of  his  correspondence,  which  has  been  placed 
at  my  disposal  by  Mr.  Steeds  of  Edgbaston,  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  ironmasters  of  his  day  were,  like 
those  of  the  present,  much  concerned  about  foreign 
competition  and  the  effect  upon  British  trade  of 
the  fiscal  measures  both  of  their  own  and  foreign 
governments.  In  view  of  the  discussion  that  has 
recently  been  held  with  regard  to  similar  questions, 
and  in  view  particularly  of  its  especial  interest  in 
Birmingham,  the  following  letters  which  Nehemiah 
Lloyd  received  from  Richard  Reynolds,  the  wealthy 
Shropshire  ironmaster  and  also  a  Friend,  may  be 
given  here  : — 

"  KETLEY,  $th  of  yd  Month,  1783, 
"  SHROPSHIRE. 

"RESPECTED  FRIEND,  NEHEMIAH  LLOYD, — I  received 
a  letter  from  a  Friend  in  London  the  3rd  Inst.  covering  one 
of  which  the  enclosed  is  a  copy — It  appears  to  me  more 
necessary  for  the  relief  of  the  Iron  trade  of  this  country 
that  a  bounty  should  be  given  to  the  exporters  of  manu- 
factured English  iron  than  that  a  drawback  should  be  allowed 
on  the  exportation  of  Russian  iron  in  any  state,  or  even  a 
lessening  of  the  duties  on  importation,  one  or  both  of  which 
may  be  presumed  to  have  been  the  object  of  the  Russian 
Company's  Remonstrance,  as  it  is  of  the  Scotch  manufacturers 
of  Russian  iron.  If  anything  should  be  attempted  relative  to 
it  in  Parliament  this  session  I  presume  it  should  not  pass 
unnoticed  by  the  makers  of  iron  in  this  Country,  and  having 
occasion  to  write  to  Rd.  Croft  yesterday  and  not  time  to  write 
two  letters  by  that  post  I  sent  a  copy  of  the  letter  to  him 
desiring  he  would  communicate  it  to  those  most  immediately 
concerned,  concluding  thou  wouldst  be  the  first  person  he 
would  consult — but  lest  anything  should  intervene  to  prevent 
it  or  his  receiving  my  letter,  I  thought  I  would  trouble  thee 
with  a  letter  on  purpose  believing  thou  wouldst  excuse  it,  and 
I  am  with  kind  respect  to  thy  brothers, 

"Thy  obliged  Friend, 

"RiCHD.  REYNOLDS." 


30     THE   LLOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 


"  GLASGOW,  igth  Feb.  1783. 


"MR.  HUGH  ATKINS. 


"  SIR, — By  yesterday's  newspapers  I  observed  a  para- 
graph mentioning  that  nine  Gentlemen  belonging  to  the  Russian 
Company  waited  on  Lord  Shelborne  with  a  Remonstrance 
relative  to  the  visible  declension  of  their  commerce,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  present  plan  of  peace. 

"Pray  can  you  favour  me  with  a  copy  of  the  Remonstrance 
and  the  result.  The  iron  manufacturers  in  this  country  having 
Slitting  Mills  and  other  valuable  extensive  establishments  for 
manufacturing  goods  from  Russian  iron  for  exportation,  are 
exceedingly  alarmed  at  the  present  state  of  the  iron  trade — 
paying  a  heavy  duty  on  the  iron  at  importation,  not  drawn 
back  at  exporting  the  goods  made  from  it,  and  America  left 
free  to  trade  with  other  Countries,  perhaps  paying  no  duties, 
whose  provisions  are  cheaper  and  taxes  less  than  they  are  in 
Britain,  or  perhaps  ever  can  be.  In  these  circumstances  is  it 
possible  for  the  British  Manufacturer  to  compete  unless  he 
draws  back  all  the  duties  payable  on  importation  ?  Without  a 
speedy  remedy  the  important  branch  of  British  iron  manufac- 
ture is  ruined. 

"  Pray,  what  are  the  English  manufacturers  of  Russian  iron 
to  do  in  the  present  state  of  things  ?  are  they  to  join  you 
Russian  gentlemen,  or  are  they  to  make  a  spirited  application 
to  Parliament  for  immediate  relief? 

"  Your  answer  will  oblige,  Sir, 

"  Your  Most  Obedient  Sernt., 

"WILLIAM  ROBERTSON." 


CHAPTER    IV 

THE   SECOND   SAMPSON   LLOYD   AND    "FARM" 

Lloyd  fruitfulness — Our  first  banks — Sampson  Lloyd  in  Park  Street 
and  Old  Square — The  purchase  of  "  Farm  " — The  Jacobite  elms — 
The  summer-house  of  the  four  seasons — Two  stanzas  on  "  Farm  "  ? 
—"Farm"  to-day  — The  heirs  of  Parkes  —  Rachel  Lloyd— Kings 
and  queens  among  the  Quakers — Kings  and  clothes — David 
Barclay 

THE  second  Sampson  Lloyd,  who  was  born  May 
15,  1699,  joined  his  father's  business.  He  was 
married  twice.  By  his  first  wife,  Sarah,  daughter 
of  Richard  Parkes,  of  Oakswell  Hall,  Staffordshire, 
he  had  one  son,  the  third  Sampson  Lloyd.1  He 
married,  secondly,  in  1731,  Rachel,  daughter  of 
Nehemiah  Champion,  of  Bristol,  and  by  her,  whom 
he  survived  twenty-three  years,  he  had  six  sons 
and  five  daughters,  fruitfulness  having  been  a 
Lloyd  characteristic  with  some  consistency  ever 
since  the  family  began.  It  was  his  fifth  son, 
Charles,  who  is  known  to  students  of  the  family 
history  as  Charles  Lloyd  the  Banker,  of  Bingley 
House,  and  of  whom  and  of  whose  sons  there  is 
much  to  be  narrated.  Of  Rachel,  Sampson  Lloyd's 
youngest  child,  there  are  also  interesting  records. 

As  one  of  the  founders  of  Lloyds  Bank  the 
second  Sampson  Lloyd  won  lasting  fame.  The 
present  extensive  and  flourishing  corporation  of 
that  name  sprang  from  the  firm  of  Taylor  and 
Lloyd,  who  owned  the  first  bank  establishment 

1  Her  Bible,  which  is  in  my  possession,  records  her  birth,  thus  :  "  Sarah 
Parks  was  born  ye  nth  day  6  month  1699  about  half  an  hour  past 
9  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  being-  the  3rd  day  of  ye  month." 


32     THE   LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

in  Birmingham.  It  was  started  in  1765  by 
Sampson  Lloyd  and  John  Taylor,  a  maker  of 
buttons  and  japanned  ware,  with  their  sons.  From 
this  time  forward  the  family  of  the  Lloyds  con- 
tinued to  be  prominently  associated  with  banking. 
Not  only  did  Sampson  Lloyd,  the  third  of  that 
name,  manage,  with  his  younger  brother  Charles, 
after  their  father's  death,  the  Birmingham  bank, 
but  he  was  the  prime  mover  in  the  formation  of 
the  London  bank  of  Taylor,  Lloyd,  Hanbury,  and 
Bowman  of  60  Lombard  Street.  This  bank,  under 
various  names,  changing  as  new  partners  were 
admitted,  had  a  long  and  prosperous  career,  and,  as 
we  shall  see,  was  ultimately  merged  in  the  present 
Lloyds  Bank.  Again,  by  the  marriage  of  Sampson 
Lloyd's  youngest  child  Rachel,  to  David  Barclay, 
the  Lloyds  became  associated  with  the  Barclays, 
and  it  was  in  Barclay's  counting-house  that  Charles 
Lloyd  of  Bingley  learned  the  banking  business. 

The  story  of  Lloyds  Bank  is  dealt  with  at 
length  in  some  of  the  succeeding  pages.  For  the 
present,  we  are  concerned  chiefly  with  the  more 
personal  aspect  of  the  second  Sampson  Lloyd's 
history,  the  principal  event  in  which,  from  our 
point  of  view,  is  perhaps  the  purchase  of  the  pro- 
perty on  which  the  writer  of  these  memoirs  now 
resides  ;  which,  since  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  has  been  known  as  "Farm";  and  which 
is  still  looked  upon,  by  the  Lloyds  of  Birming- 
ham and  other  descendants  of  the  second  Sampson 
Lloyd,  as  being  in  a  special  sense  the  home  of  the 
family. 

It  is  stated  in  Farm  and  its  Inhabitants  (a  very 
interesting  account  of  the  old  house,  written  by 
Rachel  J.  Lowe  and  privately  issued  in  1883)  that 
the  second  Sampson  Lloyd  previously  lived  at  Old 
Park  House,  in  Park  Street.  He  may  have  lived 


SAMPSON    LLOYD'S   HOUSE.    No.    .8   PARK    STREET,    BIRMINGHAM. 


THE   SECOND   SAMPSON    LLOYD     33 

there  at  the  time  of  his  marriage  in  1727  ;  but  this  is 
doubted.  It  is  at  No.  18  Park  Street  that  it  is 
known  that  he  lived  ;  but  he  did  not  go  there  till 
his  second  marriage  in  I732.1  His  son,  the  third 
Sampson  Lloyd,  also  lived  at  No.  18  Park  Street 
till  he  moved  to  Old  Square  in  1774.  Park  Street 
leads  to  and  ends  opposite  the  parish  church  of 
Birmingham,  St.  Martin's.  The  house,  a  picture 
of  which  is  attached,  was  then  a  pleasant  one,  for 
beyond  the  garden  the  meadows  led  down  with  a 
gentle  slope  to  the  river  Rea,  then  flowing  with 
pure  water  from  the  Licky  Hills,  and  beyond  it 
was  open  and  well-cultivated  country ;  but  now, 
in  1907,  this  is  all  built  over,  and  the  neighbour- 
hood has  become  a  busy  hive  of  town  life  and 
industry,  and  the  river  Rea  a  dirty  stream.  No. 
1 8  Park  Street  still  stands — a  roomy  house  now 
used  by  a  riveter,  with  all  its  walls  crumbling  to 
decay.  Old  Park  House  stands  too — empty  and 
forlorn,  but  giving  signs  of  ancient  comfort  and 
refinement. 

On  the  28th  of  April  1742  Sampson  Lloyd 
purchased  the  property  called  "The  Farm,"  con- 
sisting of  fifty-six  acres  with  a  farmhouse  and  out- 
buildings. My  cousin,  G.  B.  Lloyd,  on  examining 
the  original  conveyance,  found  that  the  price  paid 
for  it  was  ^850.  Its  value  in  the  course  of  time 
increased,  so  that  in  1849  forty  acres  of  it,  including 
the  house  and  farm  buildings,  were  valued  as  worth 
,£20,000.  Since  then  a  large  part  of  the  estate 
has  been  built  over,  some  of  the  streets  taking 
their  names  from  the  family.  "  Farm  "  itself  to-day 
consists  of  only  ten  acres. 

The  avenue  of  elm  trees  in  front  of  the  house 
was  planted  in  1745.  This  was  a  great  year — the 
year  of  the  Scottish  rebellion.  In  July  Charles 

1  See  Memorials  of  the  Old  Square,  p.  101. 


34     THE   LLOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 

Edward  Stuart  (or  "  Bonnie  Prince  Charlie,"  as  he 
was  called)  landed  in  the  Hebrides,  and  at  Perth  he 
was  proclaimed  king.  The  rebellion  spread  ;  the 
English  were  defeated  at  Prestonpans ;  and  the 
rebels  reached  as  far  south  as  Derby.  The  invasion 
occasioned  a  panic  in  London,  and  the  Funds  fell 
to  49.  The  young  prince,  on  reaching  Derby  on 
December  4,  found  that  his  army  was  not  joined 
by  English  recruits,  as  he  had  hoped,  and  he  had 
therefore  to  retreat.  The  invasion  terminated  at 
the  Battle  of  Culloden,  where  he  and  his  followers 
were  utterly  routed.  The  following  is  the  Birming- 
ham record  of  his  defeat : — 

"The  1 3th  of  October  1746  having  been  appointed  as  the 
day  for  a  general  Thanksgiving  for  the  suppression  of  the 
late  unnatural  Rebellion  by  the  Defeat  of  the  Rebels  by  his 
Royal  Highness  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  at  the  battle  of 
Culloden,  the  same  was  observed  here  [in  Birmingham]  with 
the  greatest  Loyalty." 

It  must  not  be  assumed  that  Sampson  Lloyd  was 
a  Jacobite.  The  planting  of  the  avenue  in  the  year 
of  the  invasion  was  a  coincidence  which  has  served 
to  keep  the  date  of  both  events  in  the  memory  of 
the  family.  After  it  was  planted  the  house  was 
built.  It  faces  the  south-east.  The  pleasure  garden 
was  laid  out  by  Mrs.  Knowles,  the  friend  of  the 
Lloyds  and  Dr.  Johnson.  One  choice  summer 
arbour,  called  the  fish-house,  was  placed  by  the 
pond,  and  another  was  also  erected,  in  a  more 
secluded  situation,  lighted  by  a  window  containing 
blue,  green,  yellow,  and  purple  panes  of  glass. 
This  produced  a  very  pretty  effect,  and  has  been 
the  delight  of  successive  generations  of  children, 
but,  alas  !  no  longer  to  be  enjoyed.  The  blue 
panes,  when  looked  through,  gave  a  wintry  appear- 
ance to  the  scene  :  the  green,  spring  ;  the  yellow, 


THE   SECOND    SAMPSON   LLOYD     35 

summer,  with  glowing  sunshine  ;    and   the  purple 
panes,  autumn. 

The  following  ode  by  a  Birmingham  poet 
was  perhaps  intended  to  depict  the  garden  at 
"Farm":— 

"  Ye  bow'rs  where  nature  sports  in  artless  wiles, 
And  fancy  frolics  with  bewitching  smiles ; 
Whose  power,  like  that  of  fairest  beauty,  charms 
And  care,  of  its  heart-piercing  sting,  disarms  :  .  .  . 

But  hark,  methinks  I  hear 

Enchanting  music  near ; 

Sweetly  it  breathes  its  notes  around, 

And  loving  echo  thrills  beneath  the  sound." l 

"  Farm  "  is  to-day  almost  unaltered,  except  that 
whereas  it  stood  originally  in  the  country  it  is  now 
surrounded  by  the  small  streets  of  Sparkbrook,  and 
whereas  of  old  its  gardens  were  bright  with  flowers, 
the  smoke  of  Birmingham's  chimneys  is  now  rather 
discouraging  to  vegetation.  Not  that  we  are  with- 
out flowers  and  vegetables  :  quite  the  reverse ;  but 
we  are  not  allowed  to  forget  that  we  are  in  a  great 
manufacturing  city.  The  famous  avenue  also  is 
sadly  depleted,  not  only  by  the  falling  of  the  trees, 
but  by  the  falling  of  limbs.  In  fact,  "  Farm,"  ex- 
cept at  the  beginning  of  the  summer,  when  it  can 
be  very  beautiful  and  fresh,  looks  what  it  is — an 
anachronism,  not  only  a  survival  of  the  eighteenth 
century  in  the  twentieth,  but  also  a  piece  of  the 
country  caught  and  imprisoned  by  a  town.  Within, 
it  is  unchanged.  The  rooms  here  and  there  may 
have  been  altered  ;  the  telephone  bell  may  tell 
rather  insistently  of  modernity;  but  "Farm"  re- 
mains what  it  always  was — if  I  may  quote  the  words 
of  a  visitor — "  the  friendliest  of  Friendly  homes." 

There  are  older  houses  in  Birmingham.     The 

1  A    Century    of  Birmingham    Life    (p.    202),     by    J.    A.     Langford, 
published  1868,  vol.  i.  (with  the  last  line  slightly  altered). 


36     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

Park  Street  houses  obviously  are  older,  but  there  is 
no  Georgian  abode  in  better  preservation.  Perhaps 
if  it  comes  to  age,  the  oldest  building  in  Birming- 
ham is  the  actual  farmhouse — Owen's  farm,  as  it  was 
called,  which  stands  in  the  grounds  and  gives  the 
estate  its  name — a  very  beautiful  piece  of  Tudor 
architecture. 

The  second  Sampson  Lloyd  remained  all  his 
life  of  the  same  religious  persuasion  as  his  father, 
the  first  Sampson  Lloyd,  and  his  father-in-law, 
Richard  Parkes.  He  died  aged  79,  on  November 
30,  1779,  and  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  Friends' 
graveyard  in  Birmingham,  where  his  two  wives 
had  been  buried  before  him. 

It  was  through  Sampson  Lloyd's  first  wife  Sarah 
that  the  Lloyds  became  connected  with  Wednes- 
bury,  of  which  more  is  said  in  a  later  chapter. 
Her  father,  Richard  Parkes,  owned  valuable  mining 
property  at  Wednesbury  ;  and  his  residence,  Oaks- 
well  Hall,  Wednesbury,  he  acquired,  with  property 
pertaining  to  it,  in  1689.  A  picture  of  it  is  given 
in  Shaw's  Staffordshire.  Some  of  his  Wednesbury 
property  he  inherited  through  his  wife,  but  in  1708 
and  1710  he  added  largely  to  it  by  purchase.  By 
his  will,  dated  May  2,  1728,  he  left  it  all  to  his 
four  daughters  as  tenants  in  common  ;  and  in  this 
way,  and  by  subsequent  purchases,  the  Lloyds 
came  into  possession  of  that  which  ever  since 
has  been  a  source  of  income  to  those  of  his  de- 
scendants who  style  themselves  "  Heirs  of  Parkes." 
Their  annual  meetings,  held  for  some  years  at 
"Farm,"  for  the  division  of  rents  and  royalties, 
are  remembered  as  bringing  into  social  intercourse 
members  of  the  family  who  might  not  otherwise 
have  met. 

To  Sampson  Lloyd's  fifth  son,  Charles  Lloyd 
of  Bingley,  we  come  later,  and  also,  naturally,  to 


THE   SECOND   SAMPSON    LLOYD     37 

his  eldest  son  Sampson ;  but  here  I  might  say 
a  little  of  his  daughter  Rachel,  who  married 
David  Barclay,  junior,  of  London,  grandson  of 
the  Robert  Barclay  of  Urie  who  wrote  the  cele- 
brated Apology.  David  Barclay's  father,  David 
Barclay  the  elder,  having  moved  from  Scotland  to 
London,  became  a  very  successful  merchant  there. 
He  lived  in  a  good  house  at  the  corner  of  Cheap- 
side,  with  windows  looking  towards  the  open  space 
before  the  Royal  Exchange  and  Mansion  House. 
In  this  house  he  had  entertained  Royalty,  and 
how  interesting  it  must  have  been  to  the  charming 
Rachel  to  hear  all  about  it  when  the  young  Barclay 
came  on  his  visits  to  "  Farm  "  in  1767. 

"It  was  six  years  ago,"  he  would  say,  "  that  the 
Royal  visit  of  which  I  am  about  to  tell  thee  took 
place  ;  but  my  father  had  previously  entertained 
King  George  the  Second  ;  and  King  George  the 
First  and  Queen  Anne  had  been  entertained  at  the 
house  before  them."  "Really,"  she  would  say, 
"and  thy  father  a  good  Friend  like  thyself?  And 
Queen  Anne  entertained  before  them  !  Really,  I 
can  hardly  believe  it."  Then  taking  his  sister's 
letter  from  his  pocket,  he  would  be  able  to  read 
her  written  account  of  it.1 

"It  may  be  proper  to  remark,  previous  to  the 
Royal  Family's  coming  to  my  Father's  house  to 
view  therefrom  the  Lord  Mayor's  Show,  which 
Queen  Anne,  George  I.,  and  George  II.,  had 
done,  the  latter  when  my  Father  lived  in  the  house 
(which  was  supposed  to  be  the  most  convenient 
for  the  purpose),  the  House  was  repaired  outside 
and  inside."  That  was  in  the  year  1760.  The 
letter  continues:  "On  the  second  pair  of  stairs 

1  Nearly  fifty  years  afterwards  the  letter  was  published  in  the 
Gentleman  s  Magazine^  David  Barclay  being-  still  alive,  and  writing-  to 
Hudson  Gurney  as  to  its  g-eneral  accuracy. 


3 8     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

was  placed  our  own  Company,  about  40  in 
number,  the  chief  of  whom  were  of  the  Puritan 
order,  and  all  in  their  orthodox  habits.  We  per- 
formed the  ceremony  of  kissing  the  Queen's  hand, 
and  at  the  sight  of  whom  we  were  all  in  rap- 
tures. .  .  ."  Queen  Charlotte  was  then  a  bride, 
having  been  married  in  September,  two  months 
previously. 

44  One  of  Mr.  Barclay's  daughters,  little  Lucy, 
was  at  the  time  a  pretty  child  five  years  of  age,  and 
the  King  much  delighted  by  her  beauty  took  her 
on  his  knee  and  asked  her  how  she  liked  him,  she 
replied,  *  I  love  the  King  ;  but  I  should  love  him 
better  without  the  fine  clothes.'  This  greatly 
amused  him."1  And  so  on. 

In  1767  Rachel  Lloyd  and  David  Barclay  were 
married.  There  is  a  record  in  the  Birmingham 
meeting -book  that  David  Barclay,  junior,  and 
Rachel  Lloyd  passed  the  meeting  on  September  9, 
1767,  and  were  left  at  liberty  to  accomplish  their 
marriage  a  month  later.  He  was  thirty-nine  years 
of  age,  and  Rachel  was  his  second  wife.  The 
drawing-room  at  "Farm"  (now  the  dining-room) 
was  built,  it  is  said,  for  the  occasion,  and  we  may 
picture  the  greetings  the  handsome  David  and 
his  bride  received,  in  the  newly  built,  finely  pro- 
portioned room,  on  their  return  from  the  marriage 
ceremony.  They  lived  very  happily  together  at 
Youngsbury  near  London  until  twenty-two  years 
after  their  marriage,  when  she  was  stricken  by 
illness  and  died. 

Charles  Lloyd's  letter  describes  her  interment  at 
Winchmore  Hill  as  a  very  "  striking  opportunity." 
"As  we  left  Youngsbury  at  six  this  morning,"  he 
wrote,  "my  dear  brother  [David  Barclay]  remarked 

1  She  became  Samuel  Gallon's  wife,   and  their  daughter  Mary  Anne 
married  Mr.  Schimmelpenninck. 


THE   SECOND    SAMPSON    LLOYD     39 

'how  mutable  and  unstable  are  all  human  enjoy- 
ments. My  wife  and  I,'  he  said,  'had  been  labour- 
ing to  make  Youngsbury  a  perfect  place,  and  this 
spring  all  seemed  perfection,  when,  alas  !  the  partner 
of  my  joys  was  taken  from  me  ! ' 

David  Barclay  died  in  1809.  The  Morning 
Chronicle  of  June  5,  1809,  wrote  of  him  as 
follows  : — 

"  The  late  David  Barclay,  who  died  in  his  eighty-first  year 
at  Walthamstow,  was  the  only  surviving  grandson  of  Robert 
Barclay  of  Urie.  .  .  .  We  cannot  form  to  ourselves,  even  in 
imagination,  the  idea  of  a  character  nearer  perfection.  Gifted 
by  nature  with  a  very  noble  form,  all  the  qualities  of  his  mind 
and  heart  corresponded  with  the  grandeur  of  his  exterior." 


CHAPTER   V 

BIRMINGHAM'S   EARLY   TRADE 

John  Taylor— The  snufif-box  and  the  thumb— Hutton's  panegyric  on 
Taylor  —  Friends  at  the  button  factory  —  The  bank  supplies  a 
demand — Birmingham  begins  to  be  prosperous— Hutton's  prophecy 
— Bad  roads  and  highwaymen — The  metal  trade  and  inventors — 
Matthew  Boulton  and  James  Watt — Intellectual  Birmingham — Aris 
and  Baskerville — The  Lunar  Society — Mary  Anne  Galton  takes 
notes — Matthew  Boulton's  head  and  James  Watt's  voice — Heath- 
field  Hall  and  its  relics — Murdock's  discoveries — Birmingham  and 
the  slave  trade 

IT  is  to  the  business  of  the  first  Sampson  Lloyd 
in  Edgbaston  Street,  and  to  the  success  of  their 
slitting-mill  in  Moat  Row,  that  the  association  of 
the  name  of  Lloyd  with  banking  must  be  traced. 

The  second  Sampson  Lloyd  had  inherited  a 
respectable  fortune  and  a  thriving  business  from 
his  father.  As  we  have  seen,  he  largely  extended 
the  business  and  added  to  his  possessions  not  only 
by  trading,  but  also  by  his  marriage.  The  Lloyds, 
in  his  time,  were  already  looked  upon  as  men  not 
only  of  probity  but  of  substance,  and  it  was  this 
reputation  which,  on  the  founding  of  Taylor  and 
Lloyds  Bank  in  1765,  secured  the  confidence  of 
the  public  at  a  time  when  there  was  little  or  no 
legislative  provision  for  the  protection  of  de- 
positors. The  bank  was  called  Taylor  and  Lloyds, 
but  John  Taylor,  the  Birmingham  manufacturer 
who  joined  Sampson  Lloyd  in  its  formation,  was 
content  to  leave  the  management  chiefly  in  his 
hands. 

This  John  Taylor,  who  was  born  in   the   early 

40 


BIRMINGHAM'S   EARLY   TRADE     41 

part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  is  a  notable  figure 
in  the  industrial  history  of  Birmingham.  He  was 
a  button  manufacturer ;  but  was  still  more  famous 
as  a  manufacturer  of  japanned  goods.  "He  was 
particularly  successful  in  hitting  the  fashionable 
taste  in  snuff-boxes,  articles  then  in  universal  use. 
For  one  style  of  snuff-box,  which  he  alone  pro- 
duced, there  was  an  enormous  demand.  The  boxes 
were  of  various  colours  and  shapes,  but  what  took 
the  public  fancy  was  the  peculiar  ornamentation  of 
the  surface.  Each  had  a  bright-coloured  ground, 
upon  which  was  an  extraordinary  wavy  pattern  of 
a  different  shade  of  colour.  The  two  tints  alter- 
nated in  such  an  infinite  variety  of  patterns  that  it 
was  said  that  no  two  of  Taylor's  snuff-boxes  were 
ever  found  alike.  As  other  makers  found  it  im- 
possible to  imitate  them,  Taylor,  while  the  craze 
lasted,  was  able  to  command  a  large  sale  at  high 
prices.  John  Taylor  did  this  ornamentation  with 
his  own  hands,  securely  locking  up  his  room 
during  the  process.  He  had  the  boxes  brought 
to  him  while  the  second  coat  of  colour  was  wet, 
and  then  with  his  thumb,  which  was  unusually 
broad  and  coarse-grained,  he  wove,  in  endless 
variety,  the  patterns  he  desired.  While  the  craze 
lasted  the  process  remained  to  all  others  a  mystery, 
and  in  after  years  he  used  to  tell  with  a  chuckle 
how  it  had  been  done." 

It  was  not  only  by  japanned  snuff-boxes  that 
Taylor  made  his  name  and  fortune.  The  value  of 
his  weekly  output  of  buttons  alone  was  said  to  be 
not  less  than  £800.  " There  was,"  says  Hawkes 
Smith,  "  in  his  inventions  a  decisive  elegance,  and 
an  obvious  indication  of  good  taste,  that  ensured  a 
good  sale  and  large  profits." 

Taylor  was  something  more  than  a  tradesman. 
Dr.  Johnson,  during  his  sojourn  in  Birmingham  in 


42     THE   LLOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 

1732,  became  interested  in  him  and  his  pursuits. 
Our  local  historian,  Hutton,  expressed  a  great  ad- 
miration for  him.  "  Part  of  the  riches,  extension, 
and  improvement  of  Birmingham,"  wrote  Hutton, 
with  true  patriotic  excess,  "are  owing  to  the  late 
John  Taylor,  Esq.,  who  possessed  the  singular 
powers  of  perceiving  things  as  they  really  were. 
The  spring  and  consequence  of  action  were  open 
to  his  view  whom  we  may  justly  deem  the  Shake- 
speare or  the  Newton  of  his  day.  He  rose  from 
minute  beginnings,  to  shine  in  the  commercial 
hemisphere,  as  they  in  the  poetical  and  philoso- 
phical. Imitation  is  part  of  the  human  character. 
An  example  of  such  eminence  in  himself  promoted 
exertion  in  others  ;  which,  when  prudence  guided 
the  helm,  led  to  fortune.  .  .  .  To  this  uncommon 
genius  we  owe  the  gilt-button,  the  japanned  and 
gilt  snuff-boxes,  with  the  numerous  variety  of 
enamels.  From  the  same  fountain  also  issued  the 
paper  snuff-box,  at  which  one  servant  earned  three 
pounds  ten  shillings  per  week,  by  painting  them  at 
a  farthing  each.  One  of  the  present  nobility,  of 
distinguished  taste,  examining  the  works,  with  the 
master,  purchased  some  of  the  articles,  amongst 
others,  a  toy  of  eighty  guineas  value,  and  while 
paying  for  them,  observed  with  a  smile,  *  he 
plainly  saw  he  could  not  reside  in  Birmingham 
for  less  than  two  hundred  pounds  a  day.5 ' 

The  following  is  an  account  from  a  family  letter 
of  a  visit  to  John  Taylor's  button  manufactory  on 
July  311  1755:— 

"We  saw  the  Manufactory  of  Mr.  Taylor,  the  most  con- 
siderable Maker  of  Gilt-metal  Buttons,  and  enamell'd  Snuff- 
boxes :  We  were  assured  that  he  employs  500  Persons  in 
those  two  Branches,  and  when  we  had  seen  his  Work-shop, 
we  had  no  Scruple  in  believing  it.  The  Multitude  of  Hands 
each  Button  goes  thro'  before  it  is  sent  to  the  Market,  is  like- 


THOMAS   PEMBERTON,   JUNIOR. 
From  a  painting  noiv  at  "Farm." 


BIRMINGHAM'S   EARLY  TRADE     43 

wise  surprising ;  you  perhaps  will  think  it  incredible,  when  I 
tell  you  they  go  thro'  70  different  Operations  of  70  different 
Work-folks.  .  .  . 

"We  were  too  much  straitened  for  Time  to  see  more  of 
the  Manufactories  of  the  Town,  and  were  inform'd  this  was 
the  most  worth  a  Stranger's  Notice.  We  din'd  at  Mr.  Lloyd's 
[Sampson  Lloyd].  In  the  Afternoon  we  walk'd  to  his  Country 
Seat  (about  two  Miles  from  the  Town),  which  he  called  his 
Farm:  it  consists  of  a  large  genteel  House  and  Gardens, 
Stables  and  Out-houses,  which  are  mostly  new  Buildings, 
very  neat  and  convenient ;  before  the  Front  of  the  House  is  a 
long  spacious  Lawn,  planted  on  each  Side  with  Rows  of  Elms, 
leading  to  the  Road ;  the  Dairy  and  other  Branches  relating 
to  the  Farm  lay  at  some  Distance  from  the  House,  which 
renders  it  more  cleanly  and  agreeable :  After  drinking  Tea, 
we  returned,  and  spent  the  Evening  at  the  Castle  Club  over 
'  a  Half-pint  and  Cheat.'  The  Company  was  pretty  large, 
and  very  cheerful.  My  Companion  in  particular  became 
extremely  joyous;  but  I  am  afraid  we  Londoners  rather 
encroached  too  much  on  the  Good-nature  of  our  Birmingham 
Friends ;  for  '  Cheat '  after  '  Cheat,'  so  disorder'd  their  (Eco- 
nomy, that  in  the  end  I  am  afraid  we  either  cheated  our 
landlord  or  cheated  ourselves." 

John  Taylor,  who  died  in  1775  at  the  age  of 
sixty-four,  began  life  as  a  journeyman,  it  is  be- 
lieved as  a  cabinet-maker.  Hutton  says  he  was 
regarded  by  his  fellow-townsmen  as  one  whose 
name  was  a  guarantee  of  success,  and  without 
whose  support  no  undertaking  was  likely  to  com- 
mand public  approval.  He  left  a  fortune  estimated 
at  not  less  than  ,£200,000. 

The  increasing  trade  of  Birmingham  had  caused 
its  merchants  and  manufacturers  and  its  shop- 
keepers to  feel  the  need  of  a  bank  in  which  money 
could  be  deposited  for  safe  keeping,  and,  probably 
still  more,  of  an  establishment  where  the  traders 
could  obtain  temporary  advances  upon  deeds  and 
such  other  securities  as  they  could  give.  To  John 
Taylor  and  to  Sampson  Lloyd  the  traders  of  the 
town  naturally  looked  as  the  leaders  in  such  a 


44    THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

matter.  As  a  matter  of  fact  both  men  had  ad- 
vanced money  and  undertaken  banking  transactions 
for  some  time  before  they  decided  to  make  a  regular 
business  of  it. 

The  bank  which,  in  1765,  they  founded  to  meet 
these  requirements  remained  for  exactly  a  hundred 
years  a  private  concern.  During  all  that  time  the 
Lloyds  continued  to  be  associated  with  it  as  pro- 
prietors and  managers.  And  since  1865,  when  the 
business,  carried  on  at  that  time  under  the  style 
of  Lloyds  &  Co.,  was  transferred  to  the  limited 
company  known  briefly  as  Lloyds  Bank,  the 
family  has  been  continuously  represented  not  only 
in  the  proprietorship  of  the  bank,  but  in  its  con- 
duct too. 

Before  reviewing  the  history  of  the  private 
partnership  which  commenced  in  1765,  it  may  be 
well  to  glance  at  the  local  and  general  conditions 
existing  at  that  time.  Birmingham,  as  we  have 
seen,  had  already  given  evidence  of  the  progres- 
sive spirit  of  which  it  is  still  able  to  boast.  The 
establishment  of  the  bank  was  in  itself  a  sign 
of  commercial  progress.  Though  not  the  first 
of  the  country  banks  —  one  having  been  estab- 
lished in  Newcastle-on-Tyne  ten  years  before - 
it  was  one  of  the  earliest  to  achieve  an  enduring 
success. 

The  times  were  favourable  to  the  Birmingham 
trades.  The  treaty  of  Paris,  in  1763,  had  brought 
to  a  close  the  Seven  Years'  War,  and  left  England 
in  possession  of  Canada,  Cape  Breton,  Florida, 
and  some  of  the  West  India  islands  ;  the  older 
American  colonies  were  no  longer  menaced  by 
French  aggression,  and  their  development  was  pro- 
ceeding to  the  advantage  of  British  trade,  though 
the  colonial  policy  of  the  Government  was  tending 
to  discount  this  advantage.  Clive  had  laid  the 


BIRMINGHAM'S   EARLY   TRADE     45 

foundations  of  our  Indian  Empire,  and  the  period 
was  generally  one  of  territorial  and  commercial 
expansion. 

Macaulay  puts  the  population  of  Birmingham  at 
the  time  of  the  Commonwealth  at  less  than  four 
thousand.  It  steadily  increased.  In  1750  the 
population  and  houses  in  Birmingham,  according 
to  a  survey  made  by  S.  Bradford,  were  :  popula- 
tion, 23,688;  houses,  4170.  In  1765  the  popula- 
tion was  about  25,000,  and  the  number  of  houses 
increased  in  proportion.  In  1865  the  population 
was  about  320,000  ;  houses,  7o,ooo.1 

The  belief  in  a  great  future  for  the  town,  which 
existed  among  its  inhabitants,  was  voiced  by  our 
historian  Hutton.  He  dates  the  modern  growth 
of  Birmingham  from  the  Restoration.  One  writer 
put  the  extent  of  the  town  at  that  time  at  three 
streets,  but  Hutton  thinks  that  there  were  probably 
fifteen,  and  900  houses.  He  proceeds,  with  his 
customary  regard  for  rhetoric:  " Though  she  had 
before  held  a  considerable  degree  of  eminence ;  yet 
at  this  period,  the  curious  arts  began  to  flourish, 
and  were  cultivated  by  the  hand  of  genius.  Build- 
ing leases,  also,  began  to  take  effect,  extension 
followed,  the  numbers  of  people  crowded  upon  each 
other,  as  into  a  Paradise." 

During  that  period,  as  ever  since,  Birmingham 
has  benefited  by  immigration.  "As  a  kind  tree," 
says  Hutton,  "perfectly  adapted  for  growth,  and 
planted  in  a  suitable  soil,  draws  nourishment  from 

1  In  1880,  I  might  remark,  was  printed  at  the  Chiswick  Press  an  odd 
little  pamphlet  entitled,  An  Historical  Curiosity  :  One  Hundred  and  Forty- 
one  Ways  of  Spelling  Birmingham,  the  examples  being-  taken  from  different 
writings,  chiefly  old.  Among  them  I  note  Brumwycham,  Bermyngeham, 
Burmyngham,  Bromicham,  Burmegum,  Burningham,  Brumegume,  Brim- 
midgham,  Brumigam,  Bermgham,  Bremecham,  Brimisham,  Burmedgeham, 
Brumingam,  Bermynehelham,  Bromidgham,  Bromycham,  Berkmyngham, 
Bremisham,  Brumicham.  There  seems  to  have  been  a  desire  on  the  part 
of  these  old  spellers  to  approach  as  nearly  as  possible  to  "  Brummagem  " 
without  ever  quite  saying  the  horrid  word. 


46     THE   LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

the  circumjacent  ground  to  a  great  extent,  and  robs 
the  neighbouring  plants  of  their  support,  so  that 
nothing  can  thrive  within  its  influence ;  so  Bir- 
mingham, half  whose  inhabitants  above  the  age  of 
ten,  perhaps,  are  not  natives,  draws  her  annual 
supply  of  hands,  and  is  constantly  fed  by  the  towns 
that  surround  her,  where  her  trades  are  not  prac- 
tised." Captivated  by  the  advantages  offered  by 
the  town,  which  had  led  men  like  the  first  Sampson 
Lloyd  to  become  inhabitants  and  enjoy  freedom 
to  live  and  think  unmolested,  Hutton  bursts  into 
magnificent  prophecy  : — 

"  Though  we  have  attended  Birmingham  through  so  im- 
mense a  space,  we  have  only  seen  her  in  her  infancy, 
comparatively  small  in  her  size,  homely  in  her  person,  and 
coarse  in  her  dress  :  her  ornaments  wholly  of  iron  from  her 
own  forge.  But  now  her  growths  will  be  amazing ;  her 
expansion  rapid,  perhaps  not  to  be  parallelled  in  history.  We 
shall  see  her  rise  in  all  the  beauty  of  youth,  of  grace,  of 
elegance,  and  attract  the  notice  of  the  commercial  world. 
She  will  also  add  to  her  iron  ornaments,  the  lustre  of  every 
metal  that  the  whole  earth  can  produce,  with  all  their  illus- 
trious race  of  compounds,  heightened  by  fancy,  and  garnished 
with  jewels.  She  will  draw  from  the  fossil  and  the  vegetable 
kingdoms;  press  the  ocean  for  shell,  skin  and  coral.  She 
will  also  tax  the  animal,  for  horn,  bone,  and  ivory,  and  she 
will  decorate  the  whole  with  the  touches  of  her  pencil.  ...  It 
is  easy  to  see  without  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  that  Birmingham 
hath  not  yet  arrived  at  her  zenith,  neither  is  she  likely  to 
reach  it  for  ages  to  come.  Her  increase  will  depend  upon 
her  manufactures ;  her  manufactures  will  depend  upon  the 
national  commerce ;  national  commerce  also  will  depend  upon 
a  superiority  at  sea;  and  thus  superiority  may  be  extended 
to  a  long  futurity." 

In  Hutton's  time  Birmingham  was  going  ahead 
very  rapidly,  and  he  estimated  that  the  population 
had  in  1780  reached  50,295.  But  at  the  time  of 
the  founding  of  the  bank  of  Taylor  and  Lloyd  in 
1765,  some  of  the  developments  which  were  about 


BIRMINGHAM 
STAGE-COACH, 

In  Two  Days  and  a  half;   begins  May  the 
14th,  -1731- 

ETSout  from  &t$wan-lnn  in  Btrmixgfato, 
every  Monday  at  fix  a  Clock  in  the  Morning, 
through  Warwick,  Runbury  and  A/e$hnry^ 
to  the  Red  Lion  lnn*n  Alderfgate  jlrcet^  London^ 
every  Wednesday  Morning:  And  returns  from 
the  faid  Red  Lion  Inn  every  Tbwfday  Morning 
at  five  a  Clock  the  fame  Way  to  \htSn>an-hm 
in  Birmingham  every  Saturday,  at  zi  Shillings 
each  Paffenger,  and  1  8  Shillings  from  Warwick^ 
who  has  liberty  tocarry  14  Pounds  in  Weight, 
and  all  above  to  pay  One  Penny  a  Pound. 
Perform  d  (if  God  permit) 

By  Nicholas  Roth  well 


The  Weekly  Waggon  /ets  out  every  Tuff  day  fro-m  the  Nqgg't-f&ad  in 
BirminghaiTJ*  to  the  Ked  Lion  Inw  afortfaid,  every  Smierdty  >  and  nt*mf 
from  tht  (aid.  Inn  every  Monday,  to  the  JSu-ff^-Hi&d  in.  Birnuntb*m  every 


Noce.  3^/^e/W  Nicholas  Rothwellrft  Warwick,  oMTerfont  may  be 
Ifi/hed  with  a  Tjy-Ce&h)  Chariot.  Cbai/c,  orHearfe,  <&ttk  a 
**d  dtUHorfes*  to&nj  PartofCreat 
el  ft  Saddle  fjorftf  to  bt  ha<L 


HANDBILL   ADVERTISING   THE   FIRST   STAGE   COACH   BETWEEN 


BIRMINGHAM'S    EARLY   TRADE     47 

to  take  place  were  still  unknown  ;  for  it  was  not 
until  1767  that  the  Act  was  obtained  to  construct  a 
canal  between  Birmingham  and  the  coal  "  delphs  " 
about  Wednesbury.1  Here  the  thick  coal-seam, 
thirty  feet  thick,  lay  so  near  the  surface  that  a  con- 
siderable area  was  got  by  open  work,  and  when  not 
sufficiently  near  the  surface  for  open  work,  then  by 
underground  excavations  and  gin-pits  with  drainage 
into  the  river  Tame. 

"The  necessary  article  of  coal,  before  this  act," 
says  Hutton,  "was  brought  by  land,  at  about 
thirteen  shillings  per  ton,  but  now  at  seven.  It 
was  common  to  see  a  train  of  carriages  for  miles, 
to  the  great  destruction  of  the  road  and  the  annoy- 
ance of  travellers." 

The  wretched  state  of  the  roads  at  that  time, 
giving  great  facilities  to  highwaymen,  was  very 
prejudicial  to  Birmingham,  not  only  as  a  trading 
town  but  as  a  great  coaching  centre.  A  coach 
began  to  travel  to  London  on  May  24,  1731, 
occupying  two  and  a  half  days.  In  1745  another 
undertook  to  get  there  in  two  days,  "if  the  roads 
permitted."  But  in  1782  the  journey  was  accom- 
plished in  thirteen  hours ;  and  in  1825,  when 
175  coaches,  post-chaises,  or  other  vehicles,  daily 
arrived  at,  or  passed  through,  Birmingham  each 
day,  the  distance  was  sometimes  accomplished  in 
eleven  and  a  half  hours.  We  can  now  reach 
Euston,  by  rail,  in  two  hours. 

To  quote  from  Mr.  Dent's  Making  of  Birming- 
ham : — 

"Workers  in  iron  there  were  in  abundance,  as  well  as 
those  who  prepared  the  iron  for  the  manufacturers'  use.  .  .  . 
Of  works  in  iron  there  had  sprung  up  quite  a  host  of 
branches;  grates — crude  and  barbarous  in  ornamentation — 
sad-irons  and  furnace-bars,  pots  and  kettles,  sauce-pans  and 

1  See  pag-e  94. 


48     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

cart-wheel  boxes  (the  latter  turned  out  at  the  Eagle  Foundry, 
in  Broad  Street).  Fenders  and  fire-irons  began  to  form  a 
separate  trade;  steel  works  for  making  crucible  steel  gave 
Steelhouse  Lane  its  name;  heavy  and  light  steel  toys,  a 
variety  of  useful  articles  being  included  under  the  term, 
were  sent  by  the  Birmingham  Manufacturers  to  all  parts  of 
the  world.  The  implements  for  the  carpenter,  the  glazier, 
and  the  gardener — for  the  plumber,  mason,  and  farrier,  and 
almost  every  workman  under  the  sun ;  the  thousand  and  one 
requirements  of  every-day  life,  bodkins,  corkscrews,  tweezers, 
sugar-tongs,  and  nippers,  tobacco-stoppers,  snuff-boxes,  and 
many  similar  articles ;  chains  and  manacles  for  the  slaves  of 
America,  tomahawks  for  the  red  men  of  the  West,  axes  for  the 
settlers  in  the  backwoods,  bells  for  the  vast  herds  of  cattle 
in  Australia,  all  these  as  well  as  buckles  for  the  shoes  of  the 
English  dandy — dress  swords,  stilettos,  chatelaines,  keys,  seals, 
watch-chains,  bracelets,  clasps,  brooches — all  of  steel — these 
and  many  other  productions  in  the  then  fashionable  metal 
were  supplied  largely  from  the  workshops  of  Birmingham." 

It  is  estimated  that  not  fewer  than  1000  tons  of 
brass  were  used  in  Birmingham  in  1781. 

The  establishment  of  a  proof-house  in  Birming- 
ham in  1798  attests  the  importance  to  which  the 
local  gun  trade  had  attained.  The  treatment  of  the 
American  Colonies  by  the  home  Government  had 
led  the  colonists  to  avoid,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
purchase  of  English  goods,  and  no  doubt  had,  to 
some  extent,  injured  the  trade  of  Birmingham.  But 
the  War  of  Independence  brought  large  orders  from 
the  Government  for  Birmingham  guns.  There  were 
demands  also  from  other  quarters,  and  it  is  com- 
puted that  in  the  last  twenty-five  years  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  Birmingham  gun-makers  turned 
out  at  least  three-quarters  of  a  million  stand  of 
arms.  The  Birmingham  sword-makers,  too,  de- 
monstrated their  superiority  over  their  German 
competitors,  and  large  manufactories  were  kept  at 
work  supplying  the  East  India  Company,  as  well 
as  home  and  foreign  governments.  The  wars 


BIRMINGHAM'S    EARLY   TRADE     49 

which  followed  the  French  Revolution  gave  an 
enormous  impetus  to  the  Birmingham  trade  in  arms, 
during  this  and  the  succeeding  century ;  at  the 
same  time  the  freedom  of  the  country  from  invasion 
gave  Birmingham  manufacturers  in  all  departments 
an  advantage  over  their  rivals  on  the  Continent. 
They  would  benefit  also  by  the  financial  reforms 
effected  by  Pitt  during  the  nine  years  of  peace 
which  marked  the  first  half  of  his  eighteen  years' 
ministry  (1783-1801).  The  reduction  of  the  National 
Debt,  and  improvements  in  the  national  system  of 
finance,  the  lowering  of  the  heavy  duties  on  tea, 
wine,  and  spirits,  and  the  reform  of  the  excise  and 
customs,  led  at  once  to  a  reduction  of  taxation,  an 
extension  of  trade  and  an  increase  of  revenue. 

Birmingham,  in  fact,  had  then  become  some- 
thing more  than  a  "considerable  market-town  in 
the  county  of  Warwick" — the  designation  given 
to  it  in  a  map  published  in  1752.  It  was  becoming, 
to  quote  Burke's  description,  the  "Toy-shop  of 
Europe,"  the  term  "steel  toys  "  embracing  a  variety 
of  articles  of  utility  as  well  as  all  kinds  of  the  then 
fashionable  steel  ornaments.  The  steel-toy  business 
was,  in  fact,  the  parent  of  the  Birmingham  jewellery 
trade.  Matthew  Boulton,  who  had  established 
himself  in  the  steel-toy  trade  in  Snow  Hill,  had 
just  transferred  the  business  to  Soho,  and  was 
shortly  to  be  joined  by  James  Watt,  the  inventor 
of  the  steam-engine,  and  later  by  Murdock,  in 
a  world-famous  partnership.  In  Farm  and  its 
Inhabitants  it  is  stated  that  "When  Boulton  and 
Watt  were  short  of  money,  and  when  their  inven- 
tions were  looked  upon  as  very  doubtful  experi- 
ments, they  were  greatly  assisted  by  Sampson 
Lloyd's  liberality  to  them  as  a  Banker." 

Birmingham  at  that  time  was  in  fact  not  only 
the  home  of  industry  but  the  mother,  or  the  foster- 

D 


50     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

mother,  of  much  of  the  mechanical  ingenuity  and 
industrial  enterprise  of  England. 

Intellectually,  as  we  have  seen,  the  town  had 
advanced  since  the  time  of  which  Macaulay  wrote, 
when  "on  the  market-days  Michael  Johnson,  the 
father  of  the  great  Samuel  Johnson,  came  over 
from  Lichfield  once  a  week,  and  opened  a  stall 
during  a  few  hours  when  this  supply  of  literature 
was  found  adequate  to  the  demand  ;  and  the  place 
whence,  two  generations  after,  the  magnificent 
editions  of  Baskerville  went  forth  to  astonish  all 
the  librarians  of  Europe,  did  not  contain  a  single 
regular  shop  where  a  Bible  or  an  Almanack  could 
be  bought." 

The  first  book  printed  in  Birmingham  appeared 
from  Matthew  Unwin's  press.  Mr.  Warren,  with 
whom  Johnson,  as  well  as  his  friend  Hector,  lodged 
for  a  time,  set  up  a  book-shop  and  was  the  first 
to  issue  a  newspaper,  in  which  some  of  Johnson's 
essays  appeared. 

When  Hutton  settled  in  Birmingham  in  1750 
he  found  that  Thomas  Aris  had  commenced  his 
Gazette  nine  years  previously,  and  that  two  or  three 
other  purveyors  of  literature  existed. 

Birmingham  was  soon  to  become  famous  as  the 
home  of  eminent  philosophers  and  literary  men. 
Baskerville  in  1765 — the  year  that  saw  the  forma- 
tion of  the  bank — was  producing  some  of  his  finest 
editions,  and  in  that  year  Dr.  Ash  issued  the  appeal 
which  led  to  the  establishment  of  the  General 
Hospital,  to  which  the  partners  in  the  bank  were 
among  the  first  to  respond. 

The  town  was  advancing  in  other  ways.  The 
drama,  as  well  as  literature  generally,  interested 
many  of  its  people.  Strolling  players  appeared  in 
the  various  assembly  rooms.  There  was  a  theatre 
in  King  Street,  and  ten  years  later  the  Theatre 


BIRMINGHAM'S   EARLY   TRADE     51 

Royal  was  erected.  In  1768,  three  years  after  the 
formation  of  the  bank,  the  first  musical  festival 
was  held,  and  other  recorded  incidents  show  that 
the  industrial  and  commercial  life  of  Birmingham 
had  reached  a  stage  at  which  its  strenuousness  was 
brightened  by  a  sense  of  assured  prosperity,  favour- 
able to  the  cultivation  of  the  arts. 

The  celebrated  Lunar  Society — so  called  because 
its  monthly  meetings  were  held  on  the  evening 
when  it  was  the  full  moon — was  formed  in  1765. 
Among  those  known  to  have  taken  part  in  these 
meetings  were  Mr.  Withering  (a  celebrated  botanist, 
and  one  of  the  first  physicians  to  the  General 
Hospital)  and  Dr.  Priestley,  both  of  whom  lived 
near  "  Farm  "  ;  also  Josiah  Wedgwood  of  lasting 
fame,  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  Sir  William  Herschel, 
Dr.  Darwin,  Dr.  Parr,  and  many  other  distin- 
guished persons.  Every  member  was  entitled  to 
bring  his  friends  with  him. 

Mrs.  Schimmelpenninck  (nee  Mary  Anne  Galton) 
wrote  that  her  acquaintance  with  the  Lunar  Society 
commenced  in  1786  when  she  was  eight  years  old, 
continuing  till  she  was  twenty-four.  The  appear- 
ance of  each  individual,  she  says,  was  deeply  en- 
graven on  her  memory.  She  describes  Matthew 
Boulton,  James  Watt's  partner,  as  tall,  with  a 
fine  countenance.  He  took  the  lead  in  conversa- 
tion. After  she  had  attended  phrenological  lectures 
Mrs.  Schimmelpenninck  noticed  that  his  forehead 
was  magnificent  and  that  he  was  a  man  to  rule 
Society  with  dignity.  James  Watt  was  altogether 
different,  more  fitted  to  follow  the  contemplative 
life  of  a  patiently  observant  philosopher.  His 
head  was  generally  bent  forward  :  its  intellectual 
development  was  magnificent ;  but  his  utterance 
was  slow  and  unimpassioned,  deep  and  low  in 
tone,  with  a  broad  Scottish  accent. 


52     THE   LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

When  Dr.  Priestley  entered  the  room,  it  seemed 
to  this  critic,  though  far  removed  from  believing  in 
the  sufficiency  of  his  theological  creed,  "  that  while 
the  glory  of  Matthew  Boulton  was  terrestrial,  that 
of  the  Doctor  was  celestial,  so  different  was  he 
from  so  many  orthodox  professors  I  have  unhappily 
lived  to  see  who,  like  a  corpse,  or  a  mummy, 
exhibited  all  the  form  and  lineaments  of  truth, 
but  were  destitute  of  one  vital  spark." 

The  statues  of  James  Watt  and  Dr.  Priestley, 
one  on  each  side  of  the  Birmingham  Town  Hall, 
appear  to  be  well  executed  and  to  present  good 
likenesses. 

Mr.  George  Tangye,  the  brother  of  the  late 
Sir  Richard  Tangye,  and  now  head  of  the  firm 
of  Tangye  Bros.,  engine-builders,  of  Birmingham, 
resides  at  Heathfield  Hall,  the  house  belonging 
to  the  Watt  family,  in  which  James  Watt  died. 
He  had  a  private  workshop  at  the  top  of  the  house, 
which  Mr.  Tangye  has  shown  me,  and  which  is 
still  kept  locked  up  by  request  of  the  Watt  family 
so  that  the  lathes  and  contrivances  of  James  Watt 
may  remain  just  as  he  left  them  the  last  time 
he  went  out  of  it. 

I  have  just  seen  a  copy  of  a  letter  from 
Matthew  Boulton  to  James  Watt,  dated  2nd 
September  1786,  telling  him  he  has  stopped 
Murdock  from  going  to  London  to  take  out  a 
patent  for  his  steam  carriage,  which  had,  in 
Cornwall,  already  travelled  a  mile  or  two,  in 
River's  great  room,  in  a  circle,  carrying  the  fire, 
shovel,  poker,  and  tongs.  Boulton  adds  to  this 
that  it  was  fortunate  that  he  met  him  and  per- 
suaded him  to  turn  back  and  not  throw  his  money 
away.  In  reply,  James  Watt  writes  to  Boulton 
on  September  12  :  "I  have  still  the  same  opinions 
concerning  it  that  I  had,  but  to  prevent  as  much 


BIRMINGHAM'S   EARLY   TRADE     53 

as  possible  more  fruitless  argument  about  it  I  have 
one  of  some  size  under  hand  and  am  resolved  to 
try  if  God  will  work  a  miracle  in  favour  of  these 
Carriages." 

The  letters  prove  that  all  three — Watt,  Murdock, 
and  Boulton  —  were  alive  to  the  possiblity  of 
locomotion  by  steam  power,  which  was  so  well 
accomplished  afterwards  by  George  Stephenson. 
Incidentally  I  may  mention  that  I  am  a  link  be- 
tween the  present  and  the  past  in  that  I  heard 
George  Stephenson  give  his  only  lecture  in  Bir- 
mingham. It  was  upon  the  Fallacies  of  the  Rotary 
Engine. 

Many  of  these  Lunar  Society  meetings  and 
other  literary  and  scientific  gatherings  were  held 
at  Bingley  House,  the  home  of  Charles  Lloyd. 
Southey,  Coleridge,  Wordsworth,  and  Charles 
Lamb  were  among  Charles  Lloyd's  occasional 
guests,  and  thus  his  children  became  acquainted 
with  some  of  the  most  eminent  persons  of  their 
time.  But  to  them  we  come  in  a  later  chapter. 

Birmingham  was  inclined  also  towards  pure 
philanthropy.  Thomas  Clarkson,  in  his  History 
of  the  Slave  Trade^  mentions  his  visit  to  the  town 
in  1783,  and  says  : — 

"  I  was  introduced  by  letter  at  Birmingham  to  Sampson, 
and  Charles  Lloyd,  the  brothers  of  John  Lloyd,  belonging  to 
our  Committee,  and  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  I 
was  highly  gratified  in  finding  that  these,  in  conjunction  with 
Mr.  Russell,  had  been  attempting  to  awaken  the  attention  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Birmingham  to  this  great  subject ;  and  that, 
in  consequence  of  their  laudable  efforts,  a  spirit  was  beginning 
to  show  itself  there,  as  at  Manchester,  in  favour  of  the  abolition 
of  the  slave-trade." 


CHAPTER   VI 

THE    FIRST    BIRMINGHAM    BANK 

On  June  3,  1765,  the  bank  opens— Old  accounts— The  partners- 
Divisions  of  profits — Mary  Lloyd  marries  Osgood  Hanbury — 
Rival  banks— The  wealth  of  Birmingham— The  Priestley  Riots- 
Miss  Ryland,  the  benefactress  of  Birmingham 

IN  circumstances,  local  and  national,  which  promised 
well  for  such  an  undertaking,  the  bank  of  Taylor 
and  Lloyd,  on  June  3,  1765,  commenced  business. 
The  partners  were  John  Taylor,  John  Taylor,  junr., 
button  manufacturers,  with  Sampson  Lloyd  (the 
second)  and  Sampson  Lloyd,  junr.,  iron  dealers. 
The  office  was  at  the  corner  of  Bank  Passage  in 
Dale  End  ;  and  here  the  business  continued  to  be 
carried  on  until  1845.  The  passage,  still  bearing 
that  name,  existed  until  late  in  the  last  century. 

In  the  earliest  known  Birmingham  Directory, 
dated  1770,  under  the  heading  "  Public  Offices," 
stands  "The  Bank,  7  Dale  End,"  no  other  bank 
being  mentioned  in  the  book.  The  firm  Taylor 
and  Pemberton  appear  as  button  manufacturers 
in  Queen  Street,  John  Taylor  as  living  at  65  High 
Street,  and  Sampson  Lloyd  &  Son  as  "mer- 
chants" in  Edgbaston  Street. 

Though  the  date  of  the  formation  of  the  bank 
is  always  given  as  June  1765,  it  appears  that  the 
partners  had  taken  the  premises  and  had  com- 
menced a  banking  business  some  time  in  1764. 
No  doubt  they  had  thought  it  wise  to  work  up  a 
little  connection  before  formally  opening  the  bank 

54 


THE   FIRST   BIRMINGHAM    BANK     55 

to  the  public.  The  following  curious  extracts  from 
the  housekeeper's  accounts  have  been  supplied  to 
me  from  Lloyds  High  Street  bank,  Birmingham 
(still  known  to  many  people  as  "The  Birmingham 
Old  Bank")  :— 

"1765. — 4  lemons,  6d. ;  two  fowls,  is.  gd. ;  a  neck  of 
mutton,  is.  i  id. ;  a  leg  of  veal,  9  lb.,  2s.  iod.;  goose,  is.  3d.; 
I  doz.  wax  mould  candles,  7s.;  pair  of  scissors,  2s. ;  five 
sheets  of  pens,  53.  5d. ;  cod  fish,  4}  lb.,  2s.  I  Jd. ;  paid  Miss 
Powell  for  making  two  negliques  [negligees]  and  newbodying 
a  gown,  £i,  us.  6d. ;  7  lb.  of  soap,  33.  2d. ;  a  sirloin  of  beef, 
weight  22  Ibs.,  at  3d.,  55.  6d. 

"1765. — Sponge,  6d.;  lobster,  nd. ;  mole  catcher  taking 
4  moles,  8d. ;  handkerchief  for  Kate,  2s.  8d. ;  -J  doz.  oranges, 
8d. ;  4  lb.  butter,  2s.  4d. ;  £  peck  wheat,  pd. ;  i  lb.  coffee, 
6s.  8d. ;  carriage  of  a  box  from  Bristol,  is.;  2  lb.  brown 
sugar,  8d. ;  2  lb.  salt,  8d. ;  3  lb.  salmon,  35." 

The  capital  was  ^6000  in  four  equal  shares, 
and  no  deed  of  partnership  appears  to  have  been 
ever  drawn  up  during  the  one  hundred  years  of  the 
partnership,  reliance  being  placed  upon  the  entries 
in  a  private  ledger  signed  annually  by  all  the 
partners. 

Sampson  Lloyd  the  third,  styled  "junior,"  was 
then  thirty-seven  years  old.  He  was  an  enterpris- 
ing man  and  at  the  same  time  careful  and  prudent, 
and  was  the  chief  acting  partner  of  the  bank  in 
the  early  years  of  its  existence.  The  wealth  and 
capabilities  of  the  partners  were  so  well  known  that 
the  bank  at  once  commanded  the  confidence  of  the 
public.  No  interest  on  the  deposit  of  money  was 
allowed  in  the  early  years  of  the  bank,  the  partners 
thinking  it  quite  enough  concession  to  take  care  of 
other  people's  money  without  making  a  charge  for 
doing  so.  Hitherto,  those  who  had  money  had  been 
accustomed  to  keep  it  locked  up  in  their  houses, 
in  stockings,  hiding-places,  iron  coffers,  and  secret 
drawers  if  they  had  any.  It  was  an  unheard-of 


56     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

idea  to  those  who  had  saved  money  to  let  it  out 
of  their  sight  unsecured.1 

One  day  a  would-be  customer  asked  Mr.  Lloyd 
if  the  bank  would  do  something  for  him  for 
nothing.  "No  !  "  was  the  reply,  "we  do  nothing 
for  nothing  for  nobody." 

No  formal  division  of  profits  was  entered  in  the 
books  until  the  3Oth  September  1771.  The  books 
show  that  the  divisible  profit  for  the  six  years' 
trading  amounted  to  upwards  of  ,£10,000.  Each 
of  the  four  partners  had  ,£2,629  placed  to  his 
credit,  and  ,£1,049  was  carried  to  "Bad  Debt 
Account."  The  salaries  allowed  for  doing  the 
work  of  the  bank  were  very  small.  As  all  the 
Taylors  had  small  families,  and  the  Lloyds  had 
large  ones,  the  latter,  throughout  the  partnership, 
were  always  the  workers  in  the  bank. 

The  second  division  of  profits  took  place  on  the 
3ist  December  1775  (by  which  time  John  Taylor, 
senior,  had  passed  away),  and  profits  were  received 
from  the  London  bank  of  Hanbury,  Taylor,  Lloyd 
and  Bowman,  a  bank  which  Sampson  Lloyd  the 
third  was,  as  I  have  said,  the  means  of  forming. 

(Mary,  one  of  the  third  Sampson  Lloyd's  sisters, 
having  married  Osgood  Hanbury  of  Tower  Street, 
E.G.,  and  Coggeshall,  Essex,  and  Sampson  Lloyd 
and  he  being  close  friends,  Sampson  Lloyd  arranged 
to  join  him  in  partnership  ;  and  accordingly,  in  1770, 
the  bank  of  Taylor,  Lloyd,  Hanbury  &  Bowman 
was  opened  in  Lombard  Street,  William  Bowman 
having  a  share  in  it  as  manager.  In  1814  the  firm 
was  Hanbury,  Taylor  &  Lloyd  ;  in  1864  it  became 
Barnett,  Hanbury  &  Lloyd,  and  in  1884  it  was 
absorbed  by  Lloyds  Banking  Company  Limited.) 

The  third  division  took  place  on  the  3ist  of 
December  1777,  among  the  same  three  survivors  of 

1  See  Lombard  Street,  by  the  late  Walter  Bagehot. 


THE   FIRST   BIRMINGHAM    BANK     57 

the  original  partners  and  with  similar  entries  as  to 
" Silver  and  Gold  delivered,"  and  "  Demolished 
Money,"1  as  on  the  3ist  December  1775. 

The  fourth  division  took  place  on  the  3ist 
December  1779,  the  participators  being  John 
Taylor,  junior,  the  third  Sampson  Lloyd,  and 
Nehemiah  and  Charles  Lloyd,  his  half-brothers. 
The  second  Sampson  Lloyd  had  died  in  November 
of  that  year.  Afterwards  the  division  of  profits  took 
place  annually  throughout  the  partnership  of  the 
Taylor  and  Lloyd  families. 

The  two  chief  clerks  in  1779  received  salaries 
of  £80  a  year  each,  but  in  1781  the  chief  clerks 
received  ^100;  in  1783,  ^"150  a  year,  and  in  1791, 
^200.  On  January  i,  1796,  Sampson  Lloyd  (the 
fourth  of  that  name)  and  the  first  Samuel  Lloyd 
became  partners,  making  six  partners  in  the  busi- 
ness, more  than  six  being  forbidden  by  Act  of 
Parliament.2  Taylor  took  eight-twentieths  and  the 
five  Lloyds  twelve-twentieths  among  them.  During 
this  period  profits  were  received  by  the  firm  from 
the  London  bank  of  Hanburys  &  Co.  on  a  capital 
in  that  business  of  ^10,000. 

Early  in  the  history  of  the  bank  the  books  have 
entries  of  indebtedness  from  firms  for  "silver  and 
gold  delivered,"  showing  that  the  bank  did  a  trade 
in  bullion,  also  three  items  of  "demolished  money." 
The  account  of  the  sons  of  Sampson  Lloyd  the 
second  in  the  iron  business  is  treated  exceptionally, 
as  if  in  some  way  connected  with  the  bank,  but  as 
no  similar  mention  is  made  at  this  date  (December 
31,  1 778)  of  Taylor's  button  trade,  it  had  probably 

1  See  p.  79  of  Walter  Bagehot's  Lombard  Street  as  to  worn,  clipt,  and 
degraded  coin  ;  also  Adam  Smith's    Wealth  of  Nations ;  book  iv.  chap,  iii., 
on  Banks  of  Deposit,  &c. 

2  The  Act  of  1742  gave  the  Bank  of  England  exclusive  banking  privi- 
leges, and  no  bank  consisting  of  more  than  six  partners  in  England  could 
trade  in  the  ordinary  way  as  bankers. 


58     THE    LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

been  disposed  of,  or  was  carried  on  by  Taylor  and 
Pemberton,  the  firm  named  in  the  Birmingham 
Directory  of  1770  as  button  manufacturers  in 
Queen  Street.  At  the  close  of  1796  a  memorandum 
was  made  in  the  books  "  that  Sampson  Lloyd  [the 
third]  may  divide  his  share  of  the  profits  with  his 
two  sons  and  may  retire  in  their  favour  at  the  close 
of  1798." 

The  late  Alderman  Lloyd,  who  was  the  last 
surviving  partner  of  the  private  partnership,  to 
whom  I  am  indebted  for  the  particulars  of  the 
division  of  profits,  did  not  mention  the  amounts 
subsequently  divided  ;  but  there  is  evidence  that  the 
profits  increased  and  became  year  by  year  a  very 
satisfactory  source  of  income  to  the  partners — in 
fact,  before  the  first  Samuel  Lloyd  died  in  1849  I 
know  them  to  have  been  as  much  as  ,£20,000  a 
year.  After  James  Taylor's  death  in  1852  the 
profits  increased.  One  day  my  cousin  said  to  me, 
"  After  James  Taylor's  death,  my  father  made 
money  very  fast." 

For  some  time  Taylors  &  Lloyds  (to  give  the 
firm  its  true  style)  was  the  only  bank  in  Birming- 
ham. Button,  in  recording  its  formation,  says  :— 

"  Perhaps  a  public  Bank  is  as  necessary  to  the  health  of 
the  commercial  body,  as  exercise  is  to  the  natural.  The  circu- 
lation of  the  blood  and  spirits  are  promoted  by  one,  as  are  cash 
and  bills  by  the  other,  few  places  are  without ;  yet  Birmingham, 
famous  in  the  annals  of  traffic,  could  boast  no  such  claim  .  .  . 
until  the  year  1765,  when  a  regular  Bank  was  constituted  by 
Messrs.  Taylor  and  Lloyd,  two  opulent  tradesmen  whose  credit 
being  equal  to  that  of  the  Bank  of  England,  quickly  collected 
the  shining  rays  of  sterling  property  into  its  focus." 

After  a  time,  the  success  of  Taylors  &  Lloyds 
brought  other  banks  into  existence  in  Birmingham, 
and  before  the  end  of  the  century  three  new  ones 
had  been  started.  "  Success,"  to  quote  Hutton, 


THE    FIRST   BIRMINGHAM    BANK     59 

"produced  a  second  bank,  by  Robert  Coates,  Esq., 
a  third  by  Francis  Goodall,  Esq.,  &  Co.,  and  in 
1791,  a  fourth  by  Isaac  Spooner,  Esq.,  &  Co." 
In  1793  the  bank  of  Dickenson  &  Goodall  was 
started,  but  those  forming  the  firm  in  1805  called 
their  creditors  together,  and  paid  them  about  125.  in 
the  pound.  In  1835  the  Coates  Bank  had  changed 
its  name  to  that  of  Moilliett  &  Sons,  and  in  1865  it 
was  merged  into  Lloyds  &  Co. 

Birmingham  then  and  for  many  years  after- 
wards is  described  as  a  place  where  fortunes  could 
be  made  by  the  enterprising,  where  large  sums  of 
money  were  expended  and  received,  and  where 
financial  accommodation  must  have  been  in  ever- 
increasing  demand. 

The  Priestley  Riots  in  1791  cast  a  dark  shadow. 
The  sentiments  of  Dr.  Priestley,  a  resident  of 
Birmingham  in  those  days,  had  been  represented  to 
the  lower  classes  as  dangerous  to  the  Church  and 
State,  and  when  a  dinner  took  place  at  Dee's  Hotel 
on  the  I4th  of  July  to  celebrate  the  triumph  of 
liberty  in  France,  a  mob  collected  in  the  street,  and 
becoming  excited  by  the  cry  of  * '  Church  and  King, " 
their  passions  were  so  aroused  that  they  began  to 
plunder,  burn,  and  destroy  the  houses  of  the  most 
prominent  non-church  citizens,  until  at  last  after 
four  days  of  rioting  the  military  were  sent  for,  and 
quickly  arriving,  order  was  immediately  restored. 

The  partners  in  Taylors  &  Lloyds  must  have 
experienced  considerable  anxiety,  as  the  town  was 
at  the  mercy  of  the  mob  for  four  days.  The  rioters, 
after  destroying  the  residence  of  one  of  the  partners, 
the  second  John  Taylor,  at  Bordesley  Park,  sacked 
and  burnt  Dr.  Priestley's  house  near  "Farm."1 
Some  of  them,  it  is  said,  approached  "Farm"  but 

1  A  tablet  on  a  house  in  Priestley  Road,  Sparkbrook,  now  marks  the 
place  where  Priestley's  house  stood. 


60     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

were  pacified  by  Sampson  Lloyd,  who  came  out  to 
them  with  wise  words  and  refreshments  and  thus 
placated  and  got  rid  of  the  foe. 

Neither  the  Bank  nor  the  Friends'  Meeting- 
house was  attacked.  It  is  probable  that  the 
Quakers,  who  took  no  part  in  politics,  were  not 
regarded  as  sympathisers  with  Dr.  Priestley's 


views.1 


In  a  little  volume  of  recollections  by  the  late 
T.  H.  Ryland,  Mr.  W.  H.  Ryland  writes  that  his 
grandfather's  house  was  doomed  by  the  Priestley 
rioters,  but  "  it  turned  out  that  the  premises  adjoin- 
ing belonged  to  a  Canon  of  Worcester  Cathedral, 
and  as  the  fire-engines  could  not  be  used  to  protect 
them,  the  engines  having  been  injured  and  the 
water-pipes  cut  so  as  to  be  useless,  it  would  never 
do  to  run  the  risk  of  burning  the  property  of  a 
Canon  of  the  Church  ;  so  my  grandfather's  house 
was  saved." 

The  same  little  book  gives  the  parentage  of 
the  late  Miss  Ryland,  the  great  benefactress  of 
Birmingham,  who  is  gratefully  remembered  as  the 
giver  of  the  Cannon  Hill  and  Small  Heath  parks. 
By  her  relationship  to  the  Pembertons  she  was 
slightly  linked  to  the  Lloyds,  and  also  through 
the  late  Thomas  Lloyd  becoming  the  purchaser 
of  "The  Priory"  at  Warwick,  which  belonged  to 
Miss  Ryland,  but  which,  when  the  Great  Western 
Railway  came  there,  she  preferred  to  leave  and  live 
instead  at  a  charming  residence  at  Barford,  where 
the  inheritor  of  most  of  her  property,  Mr.  Smith- 
Ryland,  now  resides. 

Mr.  Ryland's  grandfather  married  a  Miss  Pem- 
berton,  one  of  whose  sisters  became  the  wife  of 
Charles  Lloyd  the  poet,  as  we  shall  see. 

1  For  an  excellent  account  of  these  riots  see  Dr.  Priestley,   by  T.  E. 
Thorpe  (Dent  &  Co.,  1906). 


CHAPTER   VII 

FINANCIAL    STORMS 

Lloyds  notes  —  Tokens— The  difficult  year  1797— Charles  Lloyd  of 
Bingley  in  London— The  "  Clean  "  Bank— The  Napoleonic  unsettle- 
ment  — Sixty  banks  stop  payment— Charles  Lloyd  weathers  the 
storm — Runs  on  the  bank — Mr.  Mynors  thanked  for  nothing — 
An  Irish  bank  story— The  use  of  ^100  notes 

THE  bank,  very  early  in  its  history,  issued  its  own 
notes.  Five-guinea  and  one-pound  notes  are 
among  those  of  which  the  plates  are  still  kept  at 
the  head  office.  Probably  notes  for  larger  amounts 
were  also  issued,  as  plates  for  notes  as  high  as 
;£ioo  are  in  existence  ;  but  the  only  recorded  issue 
of  ,£100  notes  is  that  given  later. 

Great  inconvenience  was  occasioned  at  the 
latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  by  the 
scarcity  of  small  change.  Taylors  &  Lloyds 
remedy  was  the  issue  of  seven-shilling  bank  notes, 
an  engraving  of  one  of  which  is  given  opposite 
page  66.  The  possessor  of  any  notes,  should  he 
require  gold,  had  to  bring  three  to  the  bank,  when 
he  would  receive  a  guinea  in  exchange. 

Others  helped  to  remedy  the  scarcity  by  the 
issue  of  tokens.  I  have  by  me,  as  I  write,  a  copper 
coin  with  the  word  "  Halfpenny  "  upon  it,  with  the 
head  of  John  Wilkinson  in  profile  on  one  side,  and 
a  workman  at  an  anvil  on  the  other,  dated  1792. 
It  is  one  of  the  tokens  struck  at  Matthew  Boulton's 
Soho  Works,  Birmingham,  for  John  Wilkinson,  the 
celebrated  Midland  ironmaster.  The  great  scarcity 
caused  such  inconvenience,  that  in  1797  Matthew 


61 


62     THE   LLOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 

Boulton  was  empowered  by  the  Government  to 
provide  the  public  with  a  copper  coinage,  and  in 
eight  years  he  struck  upwards  of  4000  tons  weight 
of  such  coin.  An  Act  at  last  was  passed  which 
declared  that  on  and  after  January  i,  1818,  such 
tokens  would  be  illegal. 

In  A  Century  of  Birmingham  Life,  by  the  late 
Dr.  J.  A.  Langford,  the  following  quotation  is  given 
from  Ariss  Gazette,  April  i,  1793  :— 

"At  a  very  numerous  and  respectable  Meeting  of  the 
Inhabitants  of  this  Town  and  Neighbourhood,  held  at  the 
Hotel  this  day,  pursuant  to  a  Notice  given  in  the  Birmingham 
Gazette,  Mr.  W.  Barks  in  the  Chair,  It  was  unanimously 
Resolved,  That  every  Confidence  may  be  placed  in  the 
Five  Guinea  Notes  issued  by  the  following  established  Bankers 
of  this  Town,  viz.,  Messrs.  Taylor  and  Lloyds,  Robert  Coates, 
Esq.,  Messrs.  Dickenson  and  Goodall,  Messrs.  Spooner, 
Attwoods,  and  Ainsworth,  and  Messrs.  Bloxham,  Yates, 
Coddington  Francis,  Smith,  and  Knight ;  and  we  pledge 
ourselves  to  the  public,  and  to  each  other,  to  take  them  in 
Payments  as  usual,  that  these  Resolutions  be  immediately 
circulated  in  Hand  Bills  through  the  Town  and  Neighbour- 
hood, and  advertised  in  the  Town  and  Country  papers." 

In  this  year,  adds  Mr.  Langford,  the  Bank  of 
England  began  to  issue  five-pound  notes,  and  the 
local  bankers  five-guinea  notes.  Some  doubts  about 
the  latter  appear  to  have  existed.  Hence  the  above 
meeting. 

In  the  year  1 797,  through  the  drawing  of  immense 
sums  from  the  Bank  of  England  by  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  War  with  France,  the  heavy  taxation 
for  the  same  purpose,  and  the  hoarding  of  money 
by  the  people  through  dread  of  invasion,  the  Bank 
of  England  was  authorised  to  suspend  cash  pay- 
ments, its  notes  being  made  a  legal  tender  except 
to  the  army  and  navy;  and  it  was  not  until  1819 
that  the  Act  for  the  resumption  of  cash  payments 
was  passed.  We  shall  see  how  at  that  time,  and 


• 


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&  m^M 


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f  j@8>-.ti^/ 
^i';W, 

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/•^ 


FINANCIAL    STORMS  63 

in  a  similar  crisis   some  years   later,   Taylors  and 
Lloyds  rendered  signal  services  to  local  trade. 
Dr.  Langford  further  says  : — 

"The  public  credit  was  in  jeopardy  at  this  time  (1797). 
By  an  order  in  council  on  February  26,  the  Bank  of  England 
had  been  restricted  from  cash  payments ;  and  one-pound  notes 
were  issued  on  the  4th  of  March.  Birmingham  at  once  gave 
support  to  the  authorities ;  for  on  March  6th  we  read : 
'A  very  numerous  Meeting  of  the  Merchants  and  Trades- 
men of  this  town  was  held  at  the  Hotel  on  Thursday,  to 
consider  of  the  most  effectual  means  of  supporting  the  public 
credit  at  the  present  juncture,  when  unanimous  resolutions 
were  entered  into  not  only  to  take  in  payment  upon  all 
occasions  notes  of  the  Bank  of  England,  but  the  five  guinea 
and  other  notes  of  the  Banks  of  this  Town.  Similar  resolu- 
tions have  been  entered  into  at  other  places,  but  it  is  sincerely 
to  be  hoped  that  all  persons  will  be  as  accommodating  to 
each  other  as  possible,  in  the  circulation  of  the  specie,  as 
the  only  means  of  averting  a  probable  calamity,  which  the 
hoarding  of  money  at  the  present  crisis  is  more  likely  to 
create  than  any  cause  whatever.  One  of  the  powerful  reasons 
which  operated  upon  Government  to  order  the  Bank  to 
withhold  for  the  present  their  payments  in  specie,  is  the 
circumstance  of  an  English  guinea  now  selling  at  Hamburgh 
from  23  to  24  shillings;  and  the  Jews  had  found  means  to 
export  our  coin  thither  by  thousands  weekly.'  " 

Some  light  on  national  financial  history  is 
thrown  by  an  extract  from  one  of  Charles  Lloyd's 
letters  given  in  the  Memoirs  of  Anna  Braithivaite. 
He  wrote  to  his  wife,  under  date  ist  of  3rd  month 
1797  :— 

"  On  my  arrival  in  London  I  found  quite  a  new  state  of 
things.  The  Bank  of  England,  whose  notes  are  always 
reckoned  as  cash,  for  which  cash  has  always  been  ready 
(at  least  ever  since  the  year  1745,  when  there  was  a  temporary 
stoppage)  has  entirely  stopped  payment  of  cash,  so  that  no 
money  can  be  had  from  them,  the  consequence  of  which  is 
that  all  payment,  except  for  a  little  change,  must  be  made 
in  paper.  What  will  be  the  result  of  this  desperate  measure 
is  uncertain.  I  believe  we  are  better  off  than  most,  and  I 


64     THE    LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

am  thankful  to  say,  that  a  good  degree  of  calmness  and 
decision  covers  my  mind,  so  that  /  hope  we  shall  be  favoured 
to  stem  the  torrent,  as  far  as  relates  to  ourselves.  Our 
Friends  in  Lombard  Street  also  are  well  and  collected,  and 
feel  the  blow  much  less  than  might  have  been  expected." 

Amid  all  the  distractions  of  the  country  at  the 
end  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  the  beginning  of 
the  nineteenth  the  growth  of  Birmingham  con- 
tinued. The  rising  fortunes  of  the  town  called  into 
existence,  early  in  the  nineteenth  century,  new 
rivals  to  Taylors  &  Lloyds.  On  January  i,  1804, 
the  bank  of  Wilkinson,  Startin  &  Smith  was 
opened  ;  and  on  the  iQth  of  the  following  Novem- 
ber, Samuel  Galton,  with  his  son  Samuel  Tertius 
Galton,  and  Joseph  Gibbins,  also  commenced  busi- 
ness as  bankers.  The  Galtons,  who  were  Quakers, 
and  of  kin  to  the  Lloyds,  were  also  their  friends,  as 
will  be  seen  in  the  account  given  elsewhere  of  an 
episode  in  the  history  of  the  Birmingham  meeting. 

There  was  also  a  Birmingham  bank  the  doorstep 
of  which  so  seldom  showed  traces  of  footprints  that 
it  was  called  the  "  clean  "  bank;  but  this  one  dis- 
appeared. 

Birmingham  during  the  Napoleonic  wars  must 
have  suffered  less  than  the  rest  of  the  country  from 
the  impoverishment  which  war,  however  success- 
ful, must  cause.  The  demand  for  arms  raised  the 
manufacture  of  guns  and  swords  to  the  position  of 
staple  trades  of  the  town  ;  and,  as  has  been  pointed 
out,  Birmingham  profited  by  the  state  of  things 
abroad.  The  local  banks,  at  any  rate,  found  their 
difficulties  arise  not  from  the  war,  but  from  the  peace 
which  was  secured  in  1815  by  the  battle  of  Waterloo. 
On  the  banishment  of  Napoleon  to  Elba  in  1814,  it 
was  thought  that  the  time  had  come  for  the  re- 
sumption by  the  Bank  of  England  of  payments  in 
specie,  but  the  preparations  for  this  measure  pro- 


FINANCIAL   STORMS  65 

duced  results  which  for  a  time  made  the  peace 
seem  to  some  a  hindrance  rather  than  a  help.  The 
money-market  became  "  tight,"  prices  fell,  credit 
was  injured,  trade  became  dull,  general  distress 
and  discontent  ensued,  and  riots  broke  out  all  over 
the  country.  Birmingham  itself  was  the  scene  of 
food  riots  in  1816  (as  it  had  been  in  1608). 

The  Government  thought  it  wise  to  postpone 
the  resumption  of  cash  payments  until  1819.  The 
Act,  known  as  "  Peel's  Bill,"  provided  that  the 
Bank  should  be  compelled  to  exchange  its  notes  for 
bullion  at  the  rate  of  ^3,  175.  xojd.  per  ounce,  and 
that  after  1823  holders  of  notes  might  demand 
current  coin  of  the  realm  in  exchange.  Legal 
tender  of  silver  for  any  sum  beyond  405.  was  also 
abolished.  But  the  distress  and  the  financial  con- 
fusion only  increased,  and  Parliament  by  panic 
legislation  only  made  matters  worse.  To  keep  up 
the  rents  of  agricultural  land  to  the  war  level,  the 
Corn  Laws  were  passed,  but  wheat  fell  from  I2S. 
the  bushel  to  55.  ;  land  became  practically  unsale- 
able, employment  was  scarcer  than  ever,  and  the 
poor-rates  went  up  by  leaps  and  bounds. 

Financial  measures  were  hurried  through  Parlia- 
ment, five  money  bills  being  passed  in  one  night. 
The  issue  of  one-pound  notes  as  currency  was 
allowed,  by  an  Act  passed  in  1823,  to  continue  for 
ten  years  longer.  Relief  was  felt  immediately,  but 
it  proved  to  have  been  dearly  purchased.  Trade 
revived,  and  for  a  time  employment  was  general. 
But  the  inordinate  issue  of  paper  money  led  to  a 
mania  for  speculation.  "  Besides  the  joint  stock 
Companies,  who  undertook  baking,  washing,  life 
insurance,  brewing,  and  the  like,  there  was  such  a 
rage  for  steam  and  navigation,  canals,  and  railroads, 
that  in  the  session  of  1825,  438  petitions  for  private 
bills  were  presented,  and  286  private  Acts  were 

E 


66     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

passed."  A  tremendous  panic  ensued,  and  during 
the  winter  more  than  sixty  banks  stopped  pay- 
ment, while,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  Government 
and  generous-hearted  philanthropists,  distress  and 
misery  everywhere  prevailed. 

At  the  beginning  of  December  1825  the  Bank 
of  England  held  in  cash  only  a  few  thousand  pounds. 
Cabinet  Councils  were  held  daily,  and  it  was  de- 
cided to  issue  two  millions  of  Exchequer  bills. 
The  bank  was  to  issue  an  equal  amount  of  notes 
upon  these,  and  was  recommended  to  issue  a 
further  sum  of  three  millions,  upon  the  security  of 
produce  and  general  merchandise.  But  the  panic 
was  allayed,  not  so  much  by  these  measures  as  by 
an  accidental  discovery.  The  bank  had  ceased  to 
issue  one-pound  notes  six  years  before,  but  when 
the  destruction  of  these  notes  had  been  ordered  one 
case  of  them  had  been  overlooked.  These  notes 
came  to  light  during  the  panic,  and  an  immediate 
issue  of  them  was  ordered.  This  enabled  the  crisis 
to  be  tided  over  ;  and  a  reform  of  the  Banking  laws 
which  followed  shortly  after,  depriving  the  Bank  of 
England  of  its  monopoly  of  joint-stock  banking, 
brought  about  a  new  era  in  financial  trading. 

How  did  Taylors  and  Lloyds  fare  during  this 
crisis  ? 

A  very  able  member  of  the  Lloyd  family  had 
then  become,  as  we  have  seen,  prominent  in  the 
management  of  the  bank — namely,  Charles  Lloyd 
of  Bingley  House,  an  account  of  whom  in  other 
interesting  relations  is  given  later.  The  panic  of 
1825  came  while  he  was  at  the  helm,  and  that  he 
was  a  trustworthy  pilot  is  shown  by  a  paragraph 
in  the  Birmingham  Chronicle  of  December  22 
(Thursday),  copied  into  the  London  Courier: — 

"  During  the  run  on  Messrs.  Taylors  &  Lloyds  on  Saturday 
a  postchaise  and  four  drove  up  with  a  seasonable  supply  of 


ONE  THIRD  OF  A  GUINEA  NOTE. 

Issued  by    Taylors   and  Lloyds 


i§trmin01jam  Dank 

for  five  Sbiltin&s  &  5, 
Payable  there 
/eft  t£an  Four  tow  the  r. 


'77 


ONE   FOURTH   OF  A   GUINEA   NOTE. 
Issued  by    Taylors   and  Lloyds. 


FINANCIAL   STORMS  67 

specie  and  Bank  of  England  Notes.  The  time  occupied  in 
travelling  from  London  was  under  eight  hours,  a  further 
supply  has  also  since  been  received.  We  are  happy  to  say 
there  has  not  been  the  slightest  run  on  any  of  the  Banks 
since  Monday." 

That  coup  was  Charles  Lloyd's. 

The  year  1825  was  a  fatal  one  to  many  money- 
lenders and  bankers.  The  following  is  an  extract 
from  a  paper  still  preserved  at  the  bank,  dated 
November  6,  1825  : — 

"  It  would  never  have  been  necessary  at  former  periods  to 
explain  what  is  a  Banker's  Bill !  none  are  such  but  what 
are  drawn  by  a  Banker  upon  a  Banker  in  London,  in  which 
case  the  Receiver  has  three  securities,  viz.,  his  Customers 
and  the  two  Bankers.  The  experience,  God  knows  painful 
enough,  of  many  years  past  ought  ere  this  to  have  taught 
the  Manufacturers  of  Birmingham  the  danger  of  taking 
Promissory  Notes,  or  any  Bills  indeed  but  such  as  are 
drawn  by,  and  upon  a  Banker.  .  .  .  Enquire  at  Leeds,  Man- 
chester, Sheffield,  or  in  the  great  Cotton  Manufacturing 
Districts  of  Lancashire,  whether  any  but  accepted  Bills  are 
ever  presented  to  them  in  payment  for  their  goods,  to  offer 
them  a  promissory  note  would  excite  their  Ridicule.  What 
would  be  their  surprise  then  if  a  Stranger,  of  whose  means 
they  are  in  profound  ignorance,  were  to  presume  to  become 
a  purchaser  of  Goods  on  his  own  worthless  paper  alone.  .  .  . 

"  Inhabitants  of  Birmingham,  you  have  paid  smartly  for 
your  Folly !  cease  then  to  be  plundered  in  the  shameful  way 
you  have  been.  ...  If  you  are  again  sufferers  from  similar 
means,  the  Fault  will  be  your  own !  You  have  made  Credit 
too  cheap — your  confidence  has  been  continually  abused  !  " 

Other  financial  crises  arose  from  time  to  time, 
but  the  firm  came  out  of  each  of  them  un- 
shaken, and  practically  unscathed.  Panics — such 
as  ruined  or  seriously  injured  other  banks — seemed 
to  serve  for  them  only  as  occasions  for  demonstrat- 
ing the  stability  of  their  business.  Thus  it  was  that 
the  bank,  throughout  its  existence  as  a  private 
concern,  steadily  increased  in  favour  with  the 


68     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

public,  and  its  proprietors  laid  the  foundation  for 
the  vast  financial  corporation  which,  under  the 
name  of  Lloyds  Bank  Limited,  now  represents 
the  modest  business  begun  in  1765. 

Of  a  little  panic  which  the  bank  had  to  meet 
later  in  the  nineteenth  century  some  curious  stories 
are  told.  A  run  upon  the  bank,  my  cousin,  G.  B. 
Lloyd,  told  me,  was  occasioned  by  a  market  woman 
tendering  one  of  Lloyds  &  Co.'s  notes  at  the  book- 
ing-office at  New  Street  Station.  The  young  clerk 
— probably  interpreting  too  literally  some  general 
regulations  of  the  railway  company — refused  to 
change  the  note,  and  the  story  spread  among  the 
woman's  friends.  A  number  of  the  market  people 
rushed  to  the  bank,  but  they  were  quickly  paid,  and 
the  panic  ended. 

One  of  the  humours  of  this  occasion  used  to  be 
told  by  the  Rev.  T.  H.  Mynors,  of  Weatheroak  Hall, 
Alvechurch,  who  died  March  8,  1906,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-seven.  His  father,  Mr.  Robert  Edward  Eden 
Mynors,  had  a  large  account  with  Lloyds  &  Co.,  and 
when  the  panic  was  over  he  received  a  letter  of  thanks 
from  the  partners  for  the  confidence  he  had  shown 
in  the  bank  by  leaving  his  money  there  during  the 
supposed  crisis.  The  amusing  part  of  the  story  is 
that  Mr.  Mynors  knew  absolutely  nothing  of  the 
panic  till  he  received  the  letter  of  thanks  !  News 
travelled  slowly  in  those  days,  and  the  noise  and 
tumult  of  the  crisis  did  not  break  in  upon  the 
solitude  of  Weatheroak. 

It  is  said  that  on  one  occasion,  when  panic 
prevailed,  the  firm  displayed  a  large  open  bag  of 
guineas  in  the  front  window  of  their  bank,  with 
the  names  of  various  customers  attached,  who  had 
only  to  come  in  and  receive  their  money  if  they 
wished  for  it. 

In    Ireland,    not    long   after    this,    I    heard    an 


FINANCIAL   STORMS  69 

amusing  story  of  a  run  upon  a  bank  in  that 
country.  The  bank  being  full  of  irate  customers 
all  wanting  their  money  (on  a  market-day,  I  be- 
lieve), the  bankers  had  a  number  of  sovereigns 
heated,  and  the  clerks  brought  them  in  and  laid 
them  on  the  counter ;  they  were  so  hot  that  the 
customers  threw  them  down  faster  than  they  had 
taken  them  up,  and  even  with  their  handkerchiefs 
could  not  hold  them.  Presently,  one  of  the 
Irishmen  remarked,  "  It's  no  use  troubling  about 
our  money ;  nothing  will  ever  break  this  bank. 
Shure,  they  have  a  mint  at  the  back  and  can  coin 
sovereigns  as  fast  as  they  want  them."  And  so 
the  run  immediately  ceased. 

The  unreasoning  state  of  mind  to  which  financial 
panics  are  often  due  has  another  amusing  illustra- 
tion in  the  history  of  the  firm.  The  incident  is 
also  interesting  as  being  connected  with  the  only 
known  issue  by  the  bank  of  its  £100  notes.  During 
a  period  of  panic  an  old  lady  asked  to  be  allowed 
to  withdraw  without  notice  her  deposit  account  of 
^500.  The  request  was  granted  without  hesita- 
tion. "  How  will  you  take  it?"  the  lady  was 
asked.  Promptly  came  the  reply,  "  In  your  own 
notes."  Five  ^100  notes  were  handed  to  her  and 
she  went  away  quite  happy.  The  notes  were 
carefully  hidden  away  in  the  lady's  house  ;  and 
were  not  presented  until  after  her  death  many  years 
later. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

END  OF  THE  PRIVATE  PARTNERSHIP  AND  THE 
FOUNDATION  OF  LLOYDS  BANK  LIMITED 

Other  Birmingham  banks  —  Other  Quaker  banks  —  The  joint-stock 
fashion — The  Lloyds  fall  into  line — The  failure  of  Attwoods — 
Lloyds  prospectus — The  company  is  founded — The  first  annual 
report,  Dec.  31,  1865 — Lloyds  acquires  London  status — The  pro- 
cess of  absorption  begins — The  process  of  absorption  continues — 
A  gigantic  corporation — Present-day  figures 

AT  the  time  of  the  panic  of  1825  there  were  six 
banks  in  Birmingham,  most  of  which  have  since 
been  merged  into  Lloyds.  "  Smith's  Bank,"  in 
Union  Street,  carried  on  by  the  firm  of  Gibbins, 
Smith  &  Goode,  previously  Smith,  Gray,  Cooper 
and  Co.,  which  then  had  the  largest  banking 
business  in  the  town,  was  the  only  Birmingham 
bank  that  succumbed.  Their  downfall  is  attributed 
to  the  failure  of  a  customer  who  owed  them  ,£70,000, 
but  in  spite  of  this  and  other  severe  losses  they 
were  able,  after  paying  heavy  bankruptcy  costs,  to 
provide  a  dividend  of  nineteen  shillings  and  eight- 
pence  in  the  pound. 

Galton's  Bank  (then  carried  on  in  Steelhouse 
Lane  by  the  firm  of  Galton,  Galton  &  James) 
was  one  of  the  banks  which  weathered  the  storm. 
Coates's,  established  forty  years  before,  had  premises 
in  Cherry  Street  (since  used  for  a  time  by  the 
Worcester  City  and  County  Bank),  and  the  firm 
had  become  Coates,  Woolley  &  Gorden.  The 
business  was  transferred  some  years  later  to  the 

firm    of   Moilliet,    Smith    &    Pearson,    afterwards 

70 


END    OF    PRIVATE    PARTNERSHIP     71 

J.  Moilliet  &  Sons.  Attwood,  Spooner  &  Co.'s 
Bank  had  been  founded  early  in  the  century.  The 
firm  comprised  Thomas  Attwood,  who  was  one  of 
the  two  Birmingham  members  of  Parliament  (both 
Liberals)  from  1832-1840,  and  whose  statue  in 
Stephenson  Place  commemorates  his  services  as 
founder  of  the  famous  Political  Union,  and  Richard 
Spooner,  who,  though  he  began  life  as  a  Liberal, 
is  remembered  as  the  only  Conservative  member 
Birmingham  had  (until  1886)  ever  sent  to  Parlia- 
ment. Mr.  Spooner  became  member  in  1844,  and 
retired  in  1847  in  favour  of  his  previous  opponent, 
Mr.  William  Scholefield,  when  North  Warwickshire 
gave  him  a  seat,  which  he  held  until  his  death 
in  1864.  Freer,  Rotton  &  Co.'s  Bank  was  in  New 
Street ;  the  name  of  the  firm  being  changed  after- 
wards, first  to  Rotton,  Onions  &  Co.,  then  to 
Rotton  &  Scholefield,  and  finally  to  Rotton  and 
Son.  The  Scholefields  gave  Birmingham  two 
famous  Liberal  members,  Joshua,  the  colleague 
of  Attwood,  and  his  son  William,  who,  as  a 
candidate  on  his  father's  death  in  1840,  was  de- 
feated by  Mr.  Spooner,  but  was  returned  in  1841, 
and  remained  as  a  colleague  of  G.  F.  Muntz  and 
afterwards  of  John  Bright,  until  his  death  in 
July  1865. 

It  may  be  noted  that  the  Bank  of  England, 
which  by  the  Act  of  1826  was  deprived  of  its 
monopoly  of  joint-stock  banking,  but  was  at  the 
same  time  given  power  to  open  provincial  branches, 
opened  its  branch  bank  in  Birmingham  on  January 
i,  1827,  its  first  premises  being  those  which  had 
been  occupied  by  Gibbins,  Smith  &  Goode. 

It  has  been  said  that  there  were  times  when 
half  Birmingham  was  in  debt  to  Taylors  &  Lloyds. 
It  would  be  impossible  to  verify  or  to  deny  this  as 
a  literal  statement,  but  it  represents  the  popular 


72     THE   LLOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 

estimate  of  the  place  held  by  the  bank  even  then 
among  the  institutions  of  Birmingham.  Unques- 
tionably it  was  conducted  by  able  men  during  the 
hundred  years'  private  partnership,  men  who,  while 
astute  in  safeguarding  their  own  interests,  re- 
cognised the  truth  that  the  greater  the  service  the 
bank  could  render  to  the  mercantile  community, 
the  better  in  the  long-run  for  themselves.  Many 
of  the  leading  firms  in  Birmingham  had  cause 
to  be  thankful  for  the  facilities  which  the  firm 
judiciously  afforded  them,  in  the  shape  of  im- 
mediate advances  on  deposit  of  securities,  or  in 
numberless  instances,  of  temporary  accommodation 
without  security.  One  of  the  partners  said  that 
although  it  might  have  been  laid  down  as  a 
maxim,  in  earlier  days,  that  they  did  nothing  for 
nothing,  yet  they  often  did  a  great  deal  for  very 
little.  The  Lloyds,  in  fact,  knew  their  business 
as  bankers. 

During  1802  the  partners  in  Taylors  &  Lloyds 
were  John  Taylor  (son  of  the  first  John  Taylor), 
Sampson  Lloyd  (third),  Samuel  Lloyd,  Charles 
Lloyd,  and  James  Lloyd.  At  the  close  of  1804 
James  Taylor  of  Moseley  Hall  was  admitted  a 
partner,  and  he  and  his  brother  William  took  their 
father's  share  at  his  death  in  1814.  My  cousin, 
G.  B.  Lloyd,  told  me  many  years  ago  that  William 
kept  ,£100,000  outside  the  bank  business  in  the 
Funds  ;  such  an  amount  was  thought  to  be  a  large 
sum,  as  much,  perhaps,  as  a  million  would  be  now. 

The  firm  of  Taylors  &  Lloyds  retained  its 
^10,000  share  in  the  capital  of  the  bank  of 
Hanburys  until  the  death  of  Sampson  Lloyd  the 
third,  when  the  interest  in  the  London  bank  was 
transferred  to  his  son  Henry  and  the  two  banks 
became  separate  firms.  At  this  time  David  Story, 
chief  clerk  of  Taylors  &  Lloyds,  received  a 


JOHN   TAYLOR   THE   SECOND,    BANK-DIRECTOR    FROM    1765   TO    1814. 
After  the  painting   by    Gainsborough. 


END   OF    PRIVATE    PARTNERSHIP     73 

salary  of  ^300  per  annum,  and  James  Taylor 
became  the  last  surviving  partner  of  the  Taylor 
family  in  the  bank. 

Two  of  the  sons  of  the  third  Sampson  Lloyd, 
Ambrose  and  David,  joined  the  Gurney  Norfolk 
Bank  at  Halesworth  in  1820.  After  the  death  of 
Ambrose,  which  occurred  two  years  later,  David 
Lloyd  continued  as  the  resident  partner  until  his 
death  in  1839.  But  previous  to  this  Sampson 
Foster,  a  son  of  one  of  Sampson  Lloyd's  sisters,  had 
become  one  of  the  Gurney  Bank  managers.  He  was 
a  very  able  man  in  whom  entire  confidence  could 
be  placed,  and  he  became  their  head  manager  at 
Norwich,  and  retained  the  post  for  many  years  at  a 
handsome  salary,  his  services  being  greatly  valued. 
The  Gurneys  of  Norfolk  ceased  to  be  private 
bankers  on  July  i,  1896,  when  the  joint-stock  bank 
of  Barclay  &  Company  Limited  took  over  their 
business. 

I  must  not  omit  to  mention  that  Alfred  Lloyd, 
another  of  the  third  Sampson  Lloyd's  sons,  was 
a  successful  private  banker  at  Leamington.  His 
signature  is  very  neatly  written  with  a  diamond  on 
a  pane  of  one  of  the  windows  at  "  Farm,"  with  the 
date,  January  1801. 

When  James  Taylor  died  in  1852  the  interest 
of  the  Taylor  family  in  the  bank  ceased,  and  its 
title  was  changed  to  that  of  Lloyds  &  Co. 

The  bank  with  its  changed  name  still  con- 
tinued its  prosperous  career.  The  Lloyds'  calling 
as  bankers  had  become  hereditary,  and  their  inheri- 
tance included  a  financial  sagacity  which  enabled 
them  to  see  that  the  time  had  come  for  an  im- 
portant change.  The  shrewdness  which  led  the 
second  Sampson  Lloyd  to  invite  John  Taylor  to 
join  him  in  opening  the  bank  in  1765  was  equalled 
by  that  of  his  successors  a  hundred  years  later. 


74     THE   LLOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 

They  saw  that  the  time  had  arrived  when  their 
customers  should  be  allowed  to  have  an  interest 
in  the  expansion  of  the  business  and  a  share  in  the 
profits  which  that  expansion,  wisely  controlled, 
must  bring. 

The  tide,  as  they  perceived,  had  set  in  decisively 
in  favour  of  joint-stock  banks.  One  of  the  part- 
ners told  me  that  there  had  been  in  the  last  few 
years  of  the  private  partnership  a  perceptible  ten- 
dency towards  losing  the  large  accounts,  and  being 
left  with  a  multitude  of  small  ones.  This  was  a 
general  experience  with  private  banks,  and  has 
proved  a  great  factor  in  that  rapid  conversion  of 
private  into  joint-stock  banks  in  which  Lloyds, 
since  its  incorporation,  has  taken  a  leading  part. 
In  1810  there  were  forty  private  banks  in  Lombard 
Street;  now  there  are  but  two  or  three.  In  1865 
the  bank,  after  an  existence,  without  any  deed  of 
partnership,  of  one  hundred  years,  became  incor- 
porated, and  the  first  amalgamation  took  place. 

Preparations  for  the  conversion  of  Lloyds  and 
Co.  into  a  public  company  had  been  going  on  for 
some  time.  As  a  preliminary,  a  very  searching 
examination  by  a  firm  of  public  accountants  had 
taken  place.  But  when  the  prospectus  was  ready 
to  be  issued  a  panic  was  caused  in  Birmingham  by 
the  failure  of  the  old  bank  of  Attwood,  Spooner  and 
Co.  (at  that  date  Attwood,  Spooner,  Marshall  and 
Co.).  A  proposal  for  the  amalgamation  of  this 
bank  with  the  recently  formed  Birmingham  Joint 
Stock  Bank  in  Temple  Row  was  under  considera- 
tion, when,  on  March  10,  1865,  four  months  after 
the  death  of  Richard  Spooner,  the  firm  stopped 
payment.  At  the  time  of  the  failure — which  was 
attributed  to  the  withdrawal  of  large  sums  of  money 
by  representatives  of  the  former  partners,  the  Att- 
woods  —  the  liabilities  amounted  to  ,£1,007,000. 


END    OF    PRIVATE    PARTNERSHIP     75 

The  business  and  assets  were  ultimately  taken  over 
by  the  Birmingham  Joint  Stock  Bank,  which  paid 
the  creditors  of  Attwood  &  Co.  a  dividend  in  cash 
of  us.  3d.  in  the  pound. 

As  Attwoods  Bank  had  been  regarded  as  one 
of  the  safest  in  the  country,  the  failure  for  the 
moment  shook  the  faith  of  the  public  in  private 
country  banks,  and  Lloyds  &  Co.  deferred  its  issue 
of  shares  to  the  public.  But  the  delay  was  only  a 
short  one,  and  Lloyds  turned  the  public  feeling  to 
their  own  advantage  by  publishing  the  accountants' 
report  upon  their  own  business. 

Lloyds  Banking  Company  Limited  was  regis- 
tered on  May  i,  1865. 

The  business  of  the  company  also  included  that 
of  the  Lloyds'  oldest  rival,  Coates's  Bank,  which  at 
this  time  was  represented  by  the  firm  of  John 
Moilliet  &  Sons,  who  also  had  a  large  connection 
and  a  high  reputation.  The  two  firms  were  allotted 
12,500  ^50  shares  each  in  the  new  company.  A 
further  number,  12,500  shares,  was  issued  at  a 
premium  of  ^5,  and  in  regard  to  the  issue  of  15,000 
additional  shares  the  directors  were  given  a  free 
hand  as  to  premiums,  date  of  issue,  and  the  persons 
to  whom  they  should  be  allotted. 

A  remarkable  feature  in  the  prospectus,  antici- 
pating conditions  made  by  Parliament  fifteen  years 
later,  was  a  provision  that  the  aggregate  amount  of 
calls  should  not  exceed  ^12,  los.  od.  per  share, 
the  remaining  ^37,  los.  od.  to  be  available  only 
for  the  ultimate  liabilities  of  the  bank.  The  re- 
putation of  the  two  banks  and  the  confidence 
inspired  by  the  publication  of  the  accountants' 
report  proved  more  than  sufficient  to  overcome 
any  public  distrust,  though  the  excitement  caused 
by  the  Attwood  failure  had  not  yet  subsided.  The 
shares  in  Lloyds  Banking  Company  were  eagerly 


76     THE   LLOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 

subscribed  for,  and  the  company  was  formed.  The 
terms  of  issue  were  regarded  as  being  so  favourable 
to  the  investor  that  almost  immediately  the  shares 
could  not  be  bought  for  less  than  £$  premium.  I 
remember  that  one  of  the  partners  (the  late  James 
Lloyd,  grandson  of  Charles  Lloyd),  at  a  luncheon 
at  the  Queen's  Hotel,  told  the  company  (much  to 
my  surprise)  that  the  shares  were  not  worth  that 
premium,  and  he  warned  them  not  to  give  it.  But 
the  investing  public  knew  better  ;  and  the  ,£50  shares 
— £8  paid — stand  now  at  about  ^33  each.  It  is 
because  it  was  not  often  that  a  Lloyd  was  in  error  in 
matters  of  this  kind  that  I  mention  the  circumstance. 

The  surviving  partners  of  Lloyds  &  Co.  were 
among  the  directors.  To  Sampson  S.  Lloyd,  who 
became  chairman,  in  succession  to  Mr.  Timothy 
Kenrick,  the  first  chairman,  the  rapid  advance  of 
the  bank  was  in  great  measure  attributed. 

The  Wednesbury  Old  Bank  (P.  &  H.  Williams) 
was  taken  over  three  months  after  the  formation  of 
the  company,  and  the  Stafford  Old  Bank  (Steven- 
son, Salt  &  Co.)  shortly  afterwards. 

Mr.  Howard  Lloyd  (son  of  Isaac  Lloyd)  was  the 
first  secretary,  acting  also  as  a  sub-manager.  In 
1871  he  became  general  manager,  a  post  from 
which  he  retired  in  1902.  Having  been  head  of 
the  bank  staff  for  some  years  before  the  formation 
of  the  company,  he  was  well  acquainted  with  the 
details  of  the  business.  His  organising  power  was 
also  great,  and  his  success  in  forming  an  able  staff 
of  managers  and  clerks,  and  in  inspiring  them  with 
his  own  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  bank,  com- 
bined with  his  acquired,  or  maybe  partly  natural, 
ability  as  a  negotiator,  continually  helped  forward 
the  success  of  the  policy  of  expansion  and  amal- 
gamation which  has  brought  Lloyds  to  its  present 
position. 


END    OF    PRIVATE    PARTNERSHIP     77 

The  first  annual  report  (December  31,  1865)  of 
Lloyds  Banking  Company  Limited  showed — 

A  paid-up  capital  of       ....  £143, 41 5 

A  reserve  fund  of           .  27,750 
And    current     and     deposit     accounts 

amounting  together  to    .         .         .  1,166,000 

The  profit  for  the  eight  months'  operations  in  Bir- 
mingham, and  five  months  in  Wednesbury,  after  all 
deductions,  was  ,£18,323,  out  of  which  a  dividend 
of  10  per  cent,  was  declared,  and  the  balance, 
,£9,335,  was  carried  to  reserve. 

Little  more  than  a  bare  catalogue  must  suffice 
to  indicate  the  process  of  absorption  of  other  in- 
terests, which,  aided  by  great  shrewdness  of  judg- 
ment and  masterly  management,  has  resulted  in 
Lloyds  Bank  Limited  becoming  one  of  the  largest 
joint-stock  banks  in  the  world.  But  it  may  be  noted 
that  in  acquiring,  in  1884,  the  London  bank  of  Bar- 
netts,  Hoares  &  Co.,  the  company  brought  back 
into  association  with  the  name  of  Lloyd  a  business 
which  the  Lloyds  had  helped  more  than  a  century 
before  to  found — namely,  that  of  Hanbury,  Taylor 
and  Lloyd. 

The  year  1884  is  memorable  in  various  respects 
in  the  history  of  the  bank,  but  chiefly  for  the  ac- 
quirement by  Lloyds  of  the  status  of  a  London 
bank.  Up  to  that  time  the  range  of  operations 
was  restricted  by  the  fact  that  a  country  bank  must 
needs  have  a  London  agent  to  do  its  business  at 
the  London  clearing-house.  By  the  acquirement 
simultaneously  of  the  two  Lombard  Street  banks 
of  Barnetts,  Hoares  &  Co.  and  Bosanquet,  Salt 
and  Co.,  Lloyds  became  a  London  bank  under 
the  title  of  Lloyds  Barnetts  &  Bosanquets  Bank 
Limited.  They  were  the  fourth  country  bank  to 
adopt  a  town  office,  having  been  preceded  by  the 
London  and  County,  the  National  Provincial,  and 


78     THE   LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

the  Capital  and  Counties.  Five  years  later,  on  the 
amalgamation  with  the  Birmingham  Joint  Stock 
Bank,  the  company  adopted  its  present  name, 
Lloyds  Bank  Limited.  The  present  palatial  London 
office  in  Lombard  Street  was  erected  with  frontage 
also  to  Cornhill,  where  it  looks  across  at  the  Bank 
of  England. 

Lloyds,  in  addition  to  obtaining  the  status  of 
a  London  bank,  and  the  advantage  to  their  country 
business  of  having  a  seat  in  the  London  Bankers' 
clearing-house,  in  a  few  years  succeeded  in  taking 
over  some  of  the  oldest  private  banks  in  London. 
The  absorption  of  important  private  and  joint- 
stock  country  banks  also  proceeded  apace.  By 
taking  over  the  Birmingham  Joint  Stock  Bank 
Limited  in  1889,  Lloyds  acquired  the  valuable  busi- 
ness of  one  of  the  most  energetic  local  banks,  and 
two  of  the  largest  bank  buildings  in  Birmingham. 

In  nearly  every  case  of  amalgamation  with 
Lloyds,  the  offer  to  join  forces  has  come  to,  not 
from,  the  company  ;  and  no  offer  has  been  accepted 
without  the  fullest  consideration  and  investigation 
by  Lloyds.  In  three-fourths  of  the  cases  the  amal- 
gamations have  been  with  private  firms — a  dis- 
tinguishing feature  of  the  amalgamation  policy 
apparently  having  been  to  take  over  businesses 
which,  though  comparatively  small,  offer,  by  their 
connection  and  local  conditions,  opportunities  of 
larger  development  through  the  advantages  afforded, 
in  the  way  of  security  and  otherwise,  by  joint- 
stock  trading. 

The  paid-up  capital  of  Lloyds  Bank  Limited 
amounted  in  1906  to  ,£3,851,600 — more  than  four 
hundred-fold  the  capital  of  the  parent  bank  in  1765, 
and  more  than  twenty-fold  that  upon  which,  in  1865, 
the  bank  was  floated  as  a  joint-stock  company. 
The  nominal  capital,  originally  ,£2,000,000,  is  now 


END    OF    PRIVATE    PARTNERSHIP     79 

^30,000,000.  The  reserve  fund  is  ,£2,950,000  ; 
the  deposit  and  current  accounts  amount  to 
^63,587,931,  155.  6d.,  and  the  net  profit  last  year 
was  .£830,804,  us.  9d.  Lloyds  have  absorbed  more 
than  thirty  private  and  some  dozen  joint-stock  banks. 
A  list  of  the  amalgamations  is  subjoined  : — 

In  1865,  Lloyds  &  Co.,  Birmingham  Old  Bank  (established 
1765). 

In  1865,  Moilliet  &  Sons,  Birmingham. 

In  1865,  P.  &  H.  Williams,  Wednesbury  Old  Bank. 

In  1866,  Stevenson,  Salt  &  Co.,  Stafford  Old  Bank 
(established  1737). 

In  1866,  Warwick  and  Leamington  Banking  Company. 

In  1868,  A.  Butlin  &  Son,  Rugby  Old  Bank  (established 
1791). 

In  1872,  R.  &  W.  F.  Fryer,  Wolverhampton  Old  Bank. 

In  1874,  Shropshire  Banking  Company. 

In  1879,  Coventry  and  Warwickshire  Banking  Company. 

In  1880,  Beck  &  Co.,  Shrewsbury  and  Welshpool  Old  Bank. 

In  1884,  Barnetts,  Hoares  &  Co.,  London  (established 
about  1677). 

In  1884,  Bosanquet,  Salt  &  Co.,  London  (established  1796). 

In  1888,  Pritchard,  Gordon  &  Co.,  Broseley  &  Bridgnorth. 

In  1889,  Birmingham  Joint  Stock  Bank  Limited. 

In  1889,  Worcester  City  and  County  Banking  Company 
Limited. 

In  1890,  Wilkins  &  Co.,  Old  Bank,  Brecon,  Cardiff,  &c. 
(established  1778). 

In  1890,  Beechings  &  Co.,  Tonbridge  Old  Bank,  Tun- 
bridge  Wells,  Hastings,  &c. 

In  1891,  Praeds  &  Co.,.  London  (established  1802). 

In  1891,  Cobb  &  Co.,  Margate,  &c.  (established  1785). 

In  1891,  Hart,  Fellows  &  Co.,  Nottingham  (established 
1808). 

In  1892,  Bristol  and  West  of  England  Bank  Limited. 

In  1892,  R.  Twining  &  Co.,  London  (established  1824). 

In  1893,  Curteis,  Pomfret  &  Co.,  Rye  (established  1790). 

In  1893,  Herries,  Farquhar  &  Co.,  London  (established 
1770). 

In  1894,  Bromage  &  Co.,  Old  Bank,  Monmouth  (established 
1819). 


8o     THE    LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

In  1895,  Paget  &  Co.,  Leicester  Bank  (established  1825). 

In  1897,  County  of  Gloucester  Bank  Limited. 

In  1897,  Williams  &  Co.,  Old  Bank,  Chester,  &c.  (estab- 
lished 1792). 

In  1898,  Jenner  &  Co.,  Sandgate  and  ShornclifFe  Bank 
(established  1872). 

In  1899,  Stephens,  Blandy  &  Co.,  Reading,  &c.  (established 
1790). 

In  1899,  Burton  Union  Bank  Limited. 

In  1900,  Liverpool  Union  Bank  Limited. 

In  1900,  Cunliffes,  Brooks  &  Co.,  Manchester,  &c.  (estab- 
lished 1792). 

In  1900,  Brooks  &  Co.,  London  (established  1864). 

In  1900,  William  Williams  Brown  &  Co.,  Leeds  (estab- 
lished 1813). 

In  1900,  Brown,  Janson  &  Co.,  London  (established  1813). 

In  1900,  Vivian,  Kitson  &  Co.,  Torquay  Bank  (established 
1832).  ' 

In  1902,  Bucks  &  Oxon  Union  Bank  Limited. 

In  1902,  Pomfret,  Burn  &  Co.,  Ashford  Bank  (established 
1791). 

In  1903,  Hodgkin,  Barnett  &  Co.,  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  &c. 
(established  1859). 

In  1903,  Grant  &  Maddison  Banking  Company  Limited, 
Portsmouth,  &c. 

In  1905,  Hedges,  Wells  &  Co.,  Wallingford  Bank  (estab- 
lished 1797). 

In  1906,  Devon  &  Cornwall  Banking  Company  Limited. 

Lloyds  Bank  now  has  Head  Offices  in  London 
and  Birmingham,  12  branch  banks  in  London,  and 
30  in  Birmingham  and  the  suburbs,  and,  in  all,  518 
offices  and  branches,  in  444  towns  and  districts. 

As  the  prospectus  of  1865  and  the  first  annual 
report  are  of  interest  as  a  contrast  to  the  present 
state  of  affairs  they  are  given  in  Appendix  II. 
One  very  interesting  fact  to  be  noticed  by  the 
reader  of  that  Appendix  is  that  the  only  sur- 
viving member  of  the  original  Directorate  of  the 
Bank,  appointed  in  1865,  is  the  Rt.  Hon.  Joseph 
Chamberlain. 


CHAPTER  IX 

PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  THE 
LLOYDS  AS  BANKERS 

Directors'  policies — Banking  tact — The  making  of  a  multi-millionaire — 
Overdrafts — Saying  "No" — Managerial  methods — Anecdotes — The 
banker  and  the  usurer — The  late  G.  B.  Lloyd — Religious  argument 
— Three  politicians — John  Bright  and  Thomas  Lloyd — John  Bright 
and  the  Society  of  Friends — The  late  S.  S.  Lloyd — Free  Trade  and 
Protection — The  old  way  and  the  new — My  adventure  in  the  safe — 
The  Silent  Highway 

THE  late  Sampson  S.  Lloyd,  speaking  as  chairman 
at  one  of  the  annual  meetings  of  Lloyds  Bank, 
said  that  the  directors  did  not  think  it  wise 
policy  for  a  bank  to  slaughter,  without  discretion, 
its  customers,  when  they  got  into  difficulties.  The 
sentiment  was  naturally  more  in  accordance  with 
the  views  of  those  he  addressed  than  the  strict 
rules  of  another  local  bank  no  longer  in  existence. 
Woe  to  the  customer  who  was  in  anywise  a  de- 
faulter in  his  account,  or  to  a  director  even  who 
was  not  at  his  place  at  the  board  table  when  the 
directors  met.  One  member  of  the  board  of  this 
bank  was  one  day  crossing  the  churchyard  in  front 
of  the  bank  when  the  clock  struck  the  hour  for 
the  directors'  meeting.  He  was  only  one  minute 
late  and  he  had  a  good  excuse  ;  but  it  was  the 
practice  of  the  bank  to  hand  to  the  attending 
directors  their  fees  in  cash  at  the  stroke  of  time, 
and  the  fees  on  this  occasion  having  been  divided, 
he  was  deprived  of  his. 

The   policy   of  consideration    and,  where   pos- 
sible, of  assistance,  steadily  adhered  to,  undoubtedly 

81  * 


82     THE   LLOYDS   OF    BIRMINGHAM 

greatly  promoted  the  prosperity  and  success  of 
Lloyds  Bank. 

The  story  of  the  life  of  the  American  multi- 
millionaire, John  D.  Rockefeller,  as  told  recently 
by  himself  in  the  columns  of  the  London  Daily 
Mail,  affords  a  remarkable  illustration  of  the  service 
which  a  banker  may  render  at  a  critical  point  in  a 
man's  career,  and  of  the  great  advantage  which  not 
only  the  customer  but  the  bank  itself  may  derive 
from  considerate  trustfulness  at  such  a  juncture. 

There  came  a  point  at  which  Rockefeller's  father, 
who  up  to  that  time  had  financed  him,  could  lend 
no  more.  Though  the  father  was  a  wealthy  man, 
the  son's  enterprises  had  reached  a  magnitude 
beyond  the  scope  of  the  paternal  resources. 

"  Meanwhile,"  says  Mr.  J.  D.  Rockefeller,  "  I  needed  more 
than  I  could  get  from  him,  and  I  went  to  my  banker,  who  had 
known  me  in  Sunday  school,  and  had  known  me  as  an  employee 
in  this  form,  and  I  said  to  him,  '  I  must  have  some  money.' 

"  He  said,  '  Mr.  Rockefeller,  how  are  you  doing  your  busi- 
ness ?  '  I  told  him.  He  said,  '  Do  you  make  any  advancement 
on  merchandise  without  you  have  the  bills  of  lading  or  the 
property  in  the  warehouse  ? '  I  said,  '  No,  sir.'  '  Well,  do 
you  speculate  ? '  '  No,  sir.'  '  Do  you  promise  me,  Mr.  Rocke- 
feller, that  if  I  loan  you  money  you  will  continue  to  do  so,  and 
be  very  careful  not  to  make  any  advances  without  you  have  in 
hand  the  collateral,  in  the  shape  of  bills  of  lading  or  warehouse 
receipts  ? '  He  asked,  '  How  much  do  you  want  ?  '  And  I 
said,  '  Four  hundred  pounds.'  And  he  said,  '  Certainly, 
Mr.  Rockefeller,  certainly;  all  right.'  That  was  a  happy  day 
for  me. 

"Later  on,  the  president  of  this  same  bank  (I  have 
borrowed  many  times  the  £400,  I  do  not  remember  just  how 
much)  said  to  me  one  day,  and  it  was  another  president  who 
was  then  in  the  position,  'Why,  Rockefeller,  do  you  know 
you've  got  nearly  all  the  money  in  this  bank,  and  do  you  know 
our  board  of  directors  want  to  see  you  and  talk  with  you?' 
I  said,  '  I  thank  you,  I  thank  you ;  I  shall  be  very  pleased  to 
come  up  and  see  them,  and  I  want  to  come  right  away,  because 
I've  got  to  borrow  a  great  deal  more,' " 


PERSONAL    RECOLLECTIONS        83 

The  writer  of  that  record,  said  now  to  be  the 
richest  man  in  the  world,  has  just  given  ,£6,400,000 
to  the  General  Education  Board  of  the  United 
States,  the  largest  single  sum  ever  given  for  a 
philanthropic  purpose.1 

The  late  George  B.  Lloyd  once  said  to  me, 
44  Mind  and  keep  out  of  your  banker's  clutches." 
His  father  had  given  him  this  advice  early  in  his 
business  career,  and  so,  he  said,  he  would  pass 
it  on  to  me.  I  therefore  pass  the  advice  on  to 
any  reader  of  these  lines  whom  it  may  be  likely 
to  benefit.  Another  instance  may  be  quoted  show- 
ing that  no  rule  as  to  overdraft  can  be  laid  down 
to  fit  every  case  ;  for  at  Middlesborough  a  very 
careful  bank  allowed  two  customers,  whose  names 
I  need  not  give,  in  partnership  at  that  place,  to 
overdraw  their  account  by  ,£90,000 — and  on  my 
next  visit  I  found  it  had  been  all  paid  off.  The 
timely  overdraft  was  of  immense  benefit  to  the  in- 
dividuals, and  of  lasting  advantage  in  the  position 
of  the  bank  in  the  then  rising  town  of  Middles- 
borough. 

In  the  early  years  of  Lloyds  Bank  as  a  limited 
company  such  large  accommodation  was  quite  out- 
side the  scope  of  their  business.  The  late  Mr.  S. 
S.  Lloyd,  at  one  of  the  early  annual  meetings, 
stated  that  amongst  all  their  numerous  accounts 
there  was  not  one  that  exceeded  an  overdraft  of 
^"20,000. 

A  century  or  more  ago  it  was  not  invariably 
necessary  for  those  who  commenced  banking  to  be 
possessed  of  ample  means.  In  proof  of  this  I  may 
mention  a  curious  case.  Two  most  respectable 
young  men,  connected  with  the  Society  of  Friends, 
who  wanted  to  go  into  business  together  but 
lacked  the  necessary  capital,  suddenly  came  to  the 

1  The  Times,  February  9,  1907,  p.  8. 


84     THE   LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

humorous  decision  that  as  they  could  not  borrow 
money  they  would  lend  it ;  and  notwithstanding 
their  very  small  means,  they  accordingly  opened 
a  bank.  And  what  is  more,  they  managed  their 
affairs  so  well  that  they  succeeded  and  became  well- 
established  bankers. 

Mr.  G.  B.  Lloyd,  senior,  once  told  me  that  to 
be  a  banker  it  was  necessary  to  know  how  to  say 
"No."  I  gathered  he  meant  that  a  banker  might 
abruptly  say  "No"  and  give  unnecessary  offence 
and  lose  a  good  customer,  whereas  he  might  say 
"  No  "  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  the  customer  quite 
as  much  satisfied  as  the  circumstances  of  the  case 
would  admit. 

A  South  Staffordshire  bank  director  said  to 
me  one  day,  "  Mr.  Lloyd,  never  become  a  bank 
director,  for  if  you  advise  enlarged  credit,  and  any 
disaster  happens  to  the  firm,  all  the  blame  will  be 
heaped  upon  you  by  your  co-directors."  He  pro- 
bably spoke  from  personal  experience. 

A  bank  manager's  advice  to  a  customer  is  often 
opportune  and  useful.  For  instance,  at  one  of 
the  local  banks  some  years  ago  the  manager 
dropped  a  hint  to  one  of  his  customers  to  sell 
a  Birmingham  property,  the  deeds  of  which  the 
bank  had  held  as  security  until  they  were  tired  of 
doing  so.  The  customer,  who  reluctantly  complied, 
obtained  a  much  better  price  than  in  his  most 
sanguine  dreams  he  had  expected,  and  was  thus 
enabled  to  clear  off  his  debt  to  the  bank,  with 
many  thanks  for  the  advice  it  had  opportunely 
given  him.  Both  parties  were  in  this  way 
benefited. 

A  manager's  interviews  with  his  customers  have 
not  always  such  a  pleasant  sequel.  One  bank 
manager,  whom  I  knew  very  well,  was  one  day 
suddenly  brought  face  to  face  with  a  tradesman 


PERSONAL    RECOLLECTIONS        85 

whose  story  of  financial  difficulties  was  so  serious 
that  it  seemed  clear  that  not  only  was  he  ruined, 
but  that  the  bank  would  also  lose  very  heavily. 
The  manager  passed  a  very  anxious  night,  so 
much  so  that  by  the  next  morning  his  hair  had 
turned  white.  I  saw  him  both  before  and  after 
the  event,  so  can  vouch  for  the  fact. 

There  was  a  prominent  instance  of  loss  by  an 
overdraft  in  the  case  of  the  first  Birmingham  Bank- 
ing Co. — an  unlimited  company.  An  ironmaster 
named  Blackwell,  one  of  the  cleverest  men,  intel- 
lectually, ever  engaged  in  the  South  Staffordshire 
iron  trade,  gained  the  entire  confidence  of  a  leading 
director  of  the  bank,  and  he  was  allowed  to  in- 
crease his  overdraft  till  it  reached  ,£150,000. 
While  this  was  going  on  he  was  pressed  to  reduce 
the  amount,  with  the  result  that  his  valuable  assets 
were  sold,  while  the  iron-works,  which  were  not 
carried  on  at  a  profit  in  ordinary  times,  were  left 
with  the  bank  and  creditors,  and  only  produced 
a  trifling  dividend.  This  was  a  prelude  to  the 
wild  proceedings  of  a  young  bank  manager  which 
caused  the  collapse  of  the  bank,  the  present  suc- 
cessful Metropolitan  Bank  (of  England  and  Wales) 
Limited,  taking  its  place. 

I  was  talking  one  day  with  the  late  Mr. 
Lancaster,  when  I  was  with  him  in  his  yacht  in 
the  Mediterranean,  and  was  praising  the  services 
that  bankers  rendered  to  the  community,  and  con- 
trasting them  with  the  usurers  of  the  far  off  past. 
I  reminded  him  of  what  Dr.  Thomas  Hodgkin, 
who  is  both  banker  and  historian,  said  in  his  book, 
Italy  and  her  Invaders^  respecting  the  difference 
between  a  banker  and  a  usurer — that  the  former 
could  lend  money,  and  make  a  good  profit  for 
himself  at  a  much  less  rate  of  interest  than  the 
usurer  could.  The  latter,  to  make  15  per  cent,  on 


86     THE   LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

his  capital,  has  to  charge  15  per  cent,  to  his  cus- 
tomers ;  while  the  banker  may  make  the  same  rate 
of  interest  on  his  money  while  charging  only 
3  per  cent,  to  his  customer,  if  a  sum  of  money 
equivalent  to  fifteen  times  his  capital  be  deposited 
with  him  at  2  per  cent. 

The  usurer's  best  chance  of  greatest  profit,  Dr. 
Hodgkin  continues,  is  in  being  able  to  foreclose 
on  oppressive  terms  his  debtor's  mortgage.  To 
foreclose  and  thus  lock  up  his  ready  cash  with  his 
debtor's  property  is  the  last  thing  the  banker  de- 
sires, knowing,  as  he  does,  that  he  himself  may  be 
called  upon  to  pay  back,  in  cash,  the  several 
amounts  deposited  with  him.  Thus,  the  banker, 
though  he  need  not  be  regarded  as  being  less 
selfish  than  the  usurer,  is  led  by  mere  self-interest 
to  give  the  borrower  every  chance  he  prudently 
can  of  recovering  himself. 

Mr.  Lancaster  agreed  that  a  banker  gives  the 
borrower  more  time,  and  does  not  so  quickly  give 
him  the  coup  de  grace.  The  banker  proceeds  more 
scientifically ;  he  gives  the  unfortunate  borrower 
a  longer  period  of  existence,  by  getting  him  to 
place  in  his  hands  all  the  title-deeds  and  securities 
he  may  possess  to  cover  the  advances  made  to  him. 
So,  able  to  go  on,  he  keeps  paying  bank  charges 
and  commission,  hoping  for  better  times.  But 
should  these  not  come,  and  the  debtor's  circum- 
stances become  worse,  his  fate  is  the  same  as  if  a 
usurer  had  lent  him  the  money. 

The  late  Alderman  G.  B.  Lloyd  told  me  that 
when  he  was  a  young  man  and  was  learning 
engineering  at  the  works  of  Bury,  Curtis  &  Kennedy 
of  Liverpool,  he  himself  made  all  the  working 
drawings  for  the  engines  of  the  first  steamer  that 
plied  between  Liverpool  and  South  America.  But 
the  time  came  when  he  looked  to  marriage,  and  it 


PERSONAL   RECOLLECTIONS        87 

was  necessary  for  him  to  have  favourable  assets  at 
his  father's  bank.  He  accordingly  gave  up  the 
drawing  work  that  he  was  so  fond  of,  and  com- 
menced business  in  the  tube  trade,  in  which  he 
was  so  successful  that  he  acquired  the  necessary 
good  assets  and  very  soon  married.  Later  he 
entered  the  bank.  He  was  elected  Mayor  of 
Birmingham  in  1870.  His  only  son,  the  present 
Alderman  John  Henry  Lloyd,  was  Lord  Mayor 
from  November  1901  to  November  1902. 

I  was  one  day  alone  with  the  late  Mr.  G.  B. 
Lloyd,  when  he  said  that  it  struck  him  as  rather 
remarkable  that  the  Lloyd  family  had  so  con- 
tinuously held  a  middle  place,  none  of  them 
giving  way  to  the  blandishments  of  ambition,  but 
contentedly  maintaining  the  even  tenor  of  their 
way.  His  remark  calls  to  mind  the  lines  :  — 

"  Strive  to  hold  fast  the  golden  mean ; 
And  live  contentedly  between 
The  little  and  the  great." 

The  sons  of  some  of  the  Lloyds,  as  we  shall  see 
in  the  case  of  Charles  Lloyd  the  poet,  had  other 
pursuits  than  the  acquirement  of  wealth,  while 
more  than  one  of  "  The  Farm"  Lloyds  had  trade 
disappointments  ;  but  none  the  less  the  family  may 
be  said  as  a  whole  to  have  been  always  prosperous 
and  unambitious. 

The  liking  for  an  intellectual  discussion  on  a 
theological  subject  caused  G.  B.  Lloyd  to  have 
several  arguments  with  the  late  Dr.  Bowlby, 
Bishop  of  Coventry,  as  to  the  continuity  of  the 
laying  on  of  hands  from  the  time  of  the  Apostles. 
He  asked  the  bishop  how  he  could  get  over  the 
fact  of  its  having  ceased,  or  been  broken,  for  two 
or  three  centuries,  when  all  trace  was  lost  in  the 
darkness  of  that  period.  The  bishop's  reply  was 


88     THE   LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

that  when  a  train  goes  into  a  tunnel,  and  travels 
along  in  the  darkness,  it  is  stillthe  same  train  when 
it  comes  out  at  the  other  end.  It  is  needless  to 
say  that  neither  of  them  convinced  the  other,  but 
my  cousin  lent  me  the  book  which  he  thought  the 
best  on  the  subject.  It  requires,  however,  an 
intellectual,  argumentative  mind  to  delight  in  such 
a  question.  It  may  remind  us  of  his  ancestor, 
Charles  Lloyd  of  the  seventeenth  century,  whose 
argument  with  Bishop  Lloyd  lasted  till  past  mid- 
night (see  p.  13). 

The  political  views  of  the  three  chief  acting 
partners  of  Lloyds  &  Co.  during  the  last  years  of 
its  existence  were  dissimilar.  Thomas  Lloyd,  who 
was  Mayor  of  Birmingham  1859-60,  was  an  ad- 
vanced Liberal  ;  S.  S.  Lloyd  was  a  Liberal  Con- 
servative and  Churchman  ;  while  G.  B.  Lloyd,  as 
opportunity  arose,  criticised  the  views  of  both 
political  parties,  and  had  opinions  of  his  own  on 
almost  every  subject.  Thus  Liberal  customers  of 
the  bank  could,  after  transacting  their  business, 
have  a  congenial  talk  with  Thomas  Lloyd,  who  was 
a  very  energetic  conversationalist.  Conservatives 
calling  and  seeing  S.  S.  Lloyd  would  find  their 
views  corroborated  by  him  rapidly  and  clearly,  and 
go  away  intellectually  refreshed,  feeling  well  re- 
warded for  their  interview,  even  if  the  actual  busi- 
ness transacted  was  of  the  slightest  ;  while  G.  B. 
Lloyd,  who  was  a  little  more  prosaic  than  the  other 
two,  but  always  kept  on  a  high  level  of  plain 
common  sense,  was  particularly  suited  to  the  hard- 
headed  Birmingham  man  full  of  facts  and  figures. 
When  any  business  required  the  decision  of  the 
three  partners,  they  always  gave  it  their  best  and 
speedy  consideration. 

My  cousin,  Thomas  Lloyd,  wrote  a  letter  to  the 
Birmingham  Daily  Post,  a  year  or  more  before  his 
death,  putting  upon  record  the  service  which  he 


THE  LATE  GEORGE  B.  LLOYD. 

Mayor   of  Hi'rininghaw,    /<V~r>-/. 


PERSONAL   RECOLLECTIONS        89 

considered  he  had  rendered  to  the  city  by  inducing 
John  Bright  to  become  one  of  its  members.  Mr. 
Bright  had  only  just  recovered  from  an  illness,  but 
was  willing  to  talk  over  the  situation  ;  and  after  a 
little  while,  in  response  to  my  cousin's  personal 
appeal,  he  went  into  another  room  and  quickly 
wrote  his  election  address.  He  was  elected,  and 
continued  to  represent  Birmingham  in  Parliament 
till  his  death.  Some  years  ago  I  was  asked  to  see 
him  to  take  his  opinion  respecting  a  projected 
railway  across  the  Berar  cotton-fields  in  India,  and 
he  invited  me  to  his  house  at  Rochdale.  I  found 
him  disinclined  to  take  up  the  advocacy  of  such  a 
railway ;  he  preferred  to  leave  it  to  others.  He 
was  in  the  finest  intellectual  vigour,  and  when  I 
returned  I  described  his  conversation  as  so  vividly 
depicting  needed  reforms  and  so  buoyant  that  it 
was  asaf  he  would  have  taken  me  up  and  projected 
me  into  the  future  to  a  time  when  all  the  improve- 
ments he  so  desired  should  have  been  accom- 
plished. Amongst  other  things  he  said  was  this, 
that  no  one  who  left  the  Society  of  Friends  and 
joined  the  Church  of  England  was  ever  afterwards 
any  good.  Thomas  Lloyd,  who  had  championed 
his  election,  had  been  brought  up  as  a  Friend  but 
had  joined  the  Church.  If  I  had  reminded  John 
Bright  of  this  he  could  have  replied,  "  There  are 
exceptions  to  every  rule." 

A  Friend  himself,  and  much  attached  to  the 
Society,  John  Bright  did  not  like  the  very  narrow 
and  rigid  conservatism  of  some  of  the  leading 
Friends  who  then  guided  its  affairs  ;  and  one  day 
when  I  was  dining  with  a  few  of  them,  Mr.  Bright 
being  one  of  the  company,  he  very  vigorously 
expressed  his  view  that  they  did  not  lead  the 
Society  in  a  way  conducive  to  its  best  interests. 
He  desired  to  awaken  them  from  the  fossilised 
state  of  conservatism  into  which  he  deemed  they 


90     THE   LLOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 

had  lapsed,  and  to  stimulate  them  to  meet  new 
requirements,  and,  if  necessary  in  order  to  do  so, 
to  modify  the  Society's  rules  and  regulations. 

John  Bright,  it  should  be  remembered,  was  not 
an  advocate  for  the  disestablishment  of  the  Church 
of  England,  as  he  did  not  consider  that  the 
majority  of  English  people  were  prepared  for  such 
a  measure,  and,  I  believe  wisely,  thought  we  might 
go  farther  and  fare  worse. 

In  1883,  on  the  fourth  centenary  of  Martin 
Luther,  he  wrote  the  preface  to  a  small  book  I 
had  written  concerning  that  reformer. 

At  the  time  when  the  late  Sampson  S.  Lloyd 
twice  unsuccessfully  endeavoured  to  represent 
Birmingham  as  a  Member  of  Parliament  in  the 
Conservative  interest,  John  Bright  declared  that 
the  town  was  as  "  Liberal  as  the  sea  was  salt." 
Though  unsuccessful  at  Birmingham,  he  became  a 
member  for  Plymouth  ;  and  afterwards  for  South 
Warwickshire.  An  M.P.  said  of  him  that  when  out 
of  Parliament  he  wanted  to  get  in,  and  when  in, 
getting  tired  of  it,  he  wanted  to  get  out.  His 
brother  told  me  that  he  was  much  struck  with  the 
gift  he  possessed  of  speaking  in  public  not  only 
with  fluent  rapidity  and  in  a  very  pleasant  voice, 
but  with  such  clearness  that  every  syllable  of  every 
word  was  perfectly  enunciated.  He  spoke  with 
extraordinary  ease  and  cogency,  as  was  particularly 
evidenced  at  the  annual  meetings  of  the  bank. 
Sampson  Lloyd's  oratory,  however,  when  seeking 
election  in  Birmingham  was  not  on  the  popular 
side,  so  that  all  his  arguments  and  eloquence  were 
unavailing.  A  report  of  his  speech  at  the  opening 
of  the  Birmingham  Exchange  in  1865  will  be  found 
in  Appendix  III. 

He  contributed  largely  towards  the  erection  of 
Christ  Church,  Sparkbrook  (near  the  end  of  the 
avenue  at  "  Farm  "),  in  memory  of  his  first  wife 


THE  LATE  THOMAS  LLOYD  OF  THE  PRIORY,  WARWICK. 


PERSONAL   RECOLLECTIONS        91 

Emma,  who  was  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Reeves  of 
Leighton  Buzzard,  and  who  died  in  1863. 

In  reply  to  a  letter  I  wrote  to  Sir  E.  W.  Fithian 
inquiring  how  long  Mr.  S.  S.  Lloyd  was  President 
of  the  Association  of  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  the 
United  Kingdom,  and  saying  that  I  should  be 
glad  of  any  particulars  of  interest  he  could  give, 
he  replied,  "Mr.  Sampson  S.  Lloyd  became 
President  of  the  Association  in  February  1862, 
and  remained  President  for  eighteen  years  ending 
February  1880."  He  further  said  that  "he  was 
a  most  popular  President,  as  this  long  period  of 
office  proves,  and  was  greatly  esteemed  for  his 
fairness  and  lucidity  of  speech.  No  one  could  be 
more  popular  as  a  President  than  he  was."  An 
inspection  of  the  annual  reports  of  the  proceed- 
ings evidences  the  great  variety  of  commercial 
questions  that  were  brought  before  the  meetings 
of  the  Association  for  discussion  and  decision. 

At  Hull,  in  1877,  speaking  as  President,  he 
said  that  if  they  did  not  discuss  burning  questions 
of  party  politics  at  their  meetings  they  could  as 
good  citizens  do  so  elsewhere  in  their  own  localities, 
but  to  discuss  such  in  their  meetings  would  make 
their  efforts  useless  instead  of  useful,  and  serve  no 
good  purpose  whatever  ;  and  at  the  annual  dinner 
in  February  1878  he  said  that  in  that  Association, 
party  politics  were  forgotten  ;  and  whatever  their 
private  opinions  might  be,  they  were  always  ready 
to  give  a  hearty  welcome,  and  tender  their  cordial 
support  to  any  whom  Her  Majesty  may  have 
trusted  with  the  guidance  of  the  destinies  of  this 
country.  Her  Majesty's  ministers,  no  matter  which 
party  was  in  power,  always  received  from  them 
most  loyal  support. 

Amongst  other  subjects  the  question  of  Free 
Trade  and  reciprocity  was  (as  might  be  expected) 
discussed  ;  resulting  in  the  following  resolution 


92     THE   LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

being  carried,  in  February  1878:  "That  the 
action  of  several  Foreign  and  Colonial  Govern- 
ments in  imposing  protective — and  in  some  cases 
high  and  Prohibitory — Duties  on  the  Importation 
of  British  manufactures,  is  a  subject  requiring  the 
continued  and  earnest  attention  of  the  Government ; 
and  that  the  Council  of  the  Associated  Chambers 
be  requested  to  press  this  question  by  Memorial 
and  Deputation,  at  the  Foreign  Office."  Thirty- 
seven  representatives  of  Chambers  voted  for,  and 
ten  against.  It  is  interesting  at  this  date  to 
read  this  decision  taken  under  the  presidency  of  a 
Birmingham  business  man. 

In  the  course  of  this  annual  meeting,  which 
lasted  three  days,  it  was  moved  that  an  "  Inter- 
national Free  Trade  Association  should  be  formed 
with  the  view  of  the  more  general  adoption  of 
Free  Trade  in  other  countries  "  ;  but  after  a  dis- 
cussion, on  a  show  of  hands  being  taken,  it  was 
found  that  there  was  a  majority  against  the  motion. 
In  the  course  of  discussion  the  President  said  that 
he  believed  the  best  Free  Trade  influence  they  could 
exercise  was  "to  go  on  their  own  way  rejoicing"  ; 
and  if  other  countries  did  not  see  that  it  was  to 
their  interest  to  do  the  same,  he  did  not  believe 
all  the  rest  of  the  nations  in  the  world  would  con- 
vince them  of  the  advantages  of  Free  Trade. 

His  own  individual  opinions,  Mr.  S.  S.  Lloyd 
pointed  out  on  several  occasions,  were  well  known. 
He  was  in  favour  of  the  enforcement  of  Fair  Trade, 
as  far  as  possible,  upon  foreign  nations  in  their 
dealings  with  us  ;  he  was  in  favour  of  Free  Trade, 
but  against  one-sided  free  trade,  when  carried  on 
to  the  detriment  of  our  home  industries,  he  said 
his  views  were  that  the  laws  of  the  country  should 
be  made  "for  the  greatest  benefit  of  the  greatest 
number." 

I  do  not  wish  to  pass  away  from  this  reference 


S.   S.    LLOYD. 
From   a  photograph    taken  January   ij, 


PERSONAL   RECOLLECTIONS        93 

to  the  three  partners  without  alluding*  to  an  obser- 
vation made  by  S.  S.  Lloyd  at  the  close  of  an 
afternoon  lecture  by  the  late  Professor  Leone  Levi, 
in  a  Birmingham  room  crowded  with  business  men. 
In  returning  thanks  to  the  lecturer,  he  said  that 
there  could  be  no  doubt  but  "that  the  most  scru- 
pulous honesty  oug-ht  to  mark  all  our  transactions." 
The  knowledge  that  the  bank  partners  were  men  of 
sterling  honesty,  as  well  as  of  ability,  gave  the 
public  that  perfect  confidence  in  the  bank,  whatever 
the  state  of  the  money  market  might  be,  which 
doubtless  greatly  contributed  to  the  continuous 
prosperity  of  the  partnership. 

Mr.  G.  Herbert  Lloyd  reminds  me,  as  I  write, 
that  none  of  the  Lloyds,  during  the  whole  hundred 
years  of  the  partnership,  were  misers  ;  in  fact,  the 
three  surviving-  partners,  to  his  own  certain  know- 
ledge, were  rather  the  reverse. 

Some  of  the  older  men  of  business  of  the  pre- 
sent generation  may  look  back  with  regret  upon 
those  times,  when  they  could  have  the  friendly 
advice  and  the  kindly  attention  of  one  of  the 
principals.  It  certainly  was  different  from  treating 
with  a  bank  official,  bound  hard  and  fast  by  rules 
which  do  not  always  admit  of  the  monetary  assist- 
ance which  the  applicant  desires  and  feels  sure 
might  be — and  under  more  personal  circumstances 
would  be — wisely  and  beneficently  extended  to 
him.  Some  banks  are,  however,  as  fortunate  in  their 
head  clerks  and  officials  as  in  their  principals  ;  and 
as  an  instance  I  may  mention  the  late  Mr.  John 
Hickling,  who  for  forty  years  was  the  valued  con- 
fidential head  clerk  of  Lloyds. 

One  day,  when  a  small  boy,  I  was  at  the  bank 
at  Dale  End  with  my  father  and  went  into  one  of 
their  large  safes,  which  reached  from  the  floor  to 
the  ceiling  of  the  bank  parlour,  where  we  were 
sitting.  My  father  and  my  uncle,  Mr.  G.  B. 


94     THE    LLOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 

Lloyd's  father,  could  not  imagine  how  I  had  dis- 
appeared, as  the  door  of  the  room  was  shut. 
When,  on  being  called,  I  came  out  of  the  dark 
chamber,  my  uncle  was  so  surprised  and  amused 
that  he  gave  me  half-a-crown. 

Soon  after  the  bank  was  opened  in  1765  Samp- 
son Lloyd  and  his  son  Sampson  were  convinced  of 
the  desirability  of  a  canal  to  connect  the  coal-fields 
of  South  Staffordshire.  Others  being  like-minded, 
after  one  or  more  meetings  had  been  held  in 
Birmingham,  an  Act  of  Parliament  to  authorise  the 
construction  of  the  canal  was  applied  for,  and  this 
received  the  royal  assent  in  1768.  By  the  Act 
Commissioners  were  appointed,  Sampson  Lloyd 
and  his  son  being  among  them,  and  any  five  of 
them  were  "empowered  to  determine  and  adjust 
what  shall  be  paid  .  .  .  for  the  absolute  purchase 
of  the  lands  or  grounds."  This  proved  a  very 
simple,  cheap,  and  quick  way  of  settling  the  price 
to  be  paid  for  the  land  required  for  what  was  termed 
THE  SILENT  HIGHWAY.  No  time  was  lost,  and  the 
canal  being  quickly  constructed  and  opened,  it  soon 
paid  dividends  of  20  per  cent,  and  proved  con- 
tinuously a  wonderful  success. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  canal,  after  it  was 
opened,  paid  20  per  cent,  dividends,  but  it  now 
pays  only  4  per  cent.  How  is  this?  The  expla- 
nation is  that  the  proprietors  watered  the  capital 
several  times  before  the  London  and  North-Western 
Railway  Company  came  into  possession — in  other 
words,  wrote  up  the  shares  to  what  they  considered 
was  their  marketable  value.  Accordingly,  those 
descendants  of  the  first  shareholders  who  have 
retained  the  original  shares,  having  received  in  the 
past  very  satisfactory  dividends,  now  receive  4  per 
cent,  guaranteed  dividend — equal  to  8  or  10  per 
cent,  on  the  capital  originally  invested. 


CHAPTER   X 

THE  THIRD   SAMPSON   LLOYD  AND   BETSY  FIDOE 

Mrs.  Schimmelpenninck's  story — A  beautiful  Quakeress — Jail  fever — 
Sampson  Lloyd  seeks  a  woman  and  finds  an  angel — Fecundity — 
A  philosophic  father — Richard  Reynolds  and  Sampson  Lloyd — A 
modern  patriarch — Mr.  Beverley  at  "  Farm  " — An  elopement — A 
Gretna  Green  marriage — A  child  at  Child's  Bank 

AFTER  this  long  financial  interlude,  which  seemed 
to  me  to  come  more  fittingly  after  the  account  of 
the  first  banker  in  the  family  and  the  real  founder 
of  Lloyds  Bank — Sampson  Lloyd  the  second — we 
return  to  the  story  of  "  Farm  "  and  its  occupants, 
and  come  to  Sampson  Lloyd  the  third,  who  was  not 
only  the  son  of  Sampson  Lloyd  the  second,  but  also 
his  partner,  with  the  two  Taylors,  in  the  bank. 

The  third  Sampson  Lloyd,  who  was  born  August 
2,  1728,  was,  like  his  father  and  his  grandfather,  an 
excellent  man  of  business,  and  was  also  a  man  of 
strong  affections  and  friendships. 

The  romance  of  his  life  was  his  attachment  to  his 
cousin,  the  charming  Betsy  Fidoe.  Elizabeth,  the 
only  daughter  of  Charles  Lloyd  of  Dolobran,  had 
married  John  Pemberton  of  Birmingham,  and  their 
only  daughter,  Rebecca,  in  1716  married  John  Fidoe. 
In  1723  the  Fidoes  lived  in  Birmingham  in  the  Old 
Square,  and  it  was  there  that  Betsy  Fidoe  was  born.1 
John  Pemberton's  son  Thomas  married  the  second 
Sampson  Lloyd's  sister-in-law,  Jane  Parkes.2 

1  I  have  in  my  possession  the  Bible  of  "  Sarah  Fidoe,"  with  her  name 
written  in  it  at  the  beginning:   "Sarah   Fidoe   Her  Book  September  27 
1685,"  and  again,  on  the  last  page,  "Sarah  Fidoe  Her  Book  September  27 
1685."     The  book  has  been  in  the  possession  of  the  Fidoe,  Parkes,   and 
Lloyd  family  ever  since,  and  is  very  well  printed,  with  excellent  type,  a 
perfect  pleasure  to  read;   published  "Anno  Dom.    1646,"  and  dedicated 
"TO  THE  MOST  HIGH  AND  MIGHTY  PRINCE  JAMES." 

2  See  Memorials  of  the  Old  Square,  Appendix  B,  p.  129. 

95 


96     THE   LLOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 

Sampson  Lloyd,  when  he  was  over  seventy  years 
of  age,  told  his  young  relative,  Mary  Anne  Galton, 
the  story  of  his  attachment  to  Miss  Fidoe.  She 
was  immensely  interested,  and  wrote  down  what 
he  said  as  follows  : 1 — 

"  No  one,  I  believe,  could  take  more  pleasure  in  outward 
objects  and  delights  than  I  did  when  I  was  a  boy;  all  that 
was  beautiful  or  gay,  pleasurable  or  pathetic,  alike  transported 
me.  In  vain  did  my  pious  parents,  venerated  though  they 
were,  endeavour  to  moderate  my  course;  it  seemed  impos- 
sible to  resist  the  intoxication  to  which  I  was  subject.  There 
are  chambers  in  my  past  life  I  never  re-open,  though  I 
allude  to  them  now  to  speak  of  the  mercies  of  God.  I  was 
particularly  delighted  with  the  society  of  beautiful  and  accom- 
plished women,  but  amongst  them  there  was  one  who  soon 
fixed  my  especial  attention,  a  sindeed  whose  gaze  did  she  not 
fix  ?  Her  name  was  Betsy  Fidoe ;  you  have  no  doubt  heard 
of  her.  She  was  beautiful,  but  it  was  that  beauty  which 
is  never  thought  of  as  such,  because  the  outside  form  seems 
but  a  transparent  covering  to  the  soul.  She  was  accomplished, 
but  I  never  recollected  that  she  possessed  accomplishments; 
for  her  singing,  her  music,  her  recitation  of  poetry,  and  her 
eloquent  speaking,  seemed  but  the  natural  language  of  her 
heart.  All  that  she  said  sparkled  with  intelligence  and  wit 
and  kindliness. 

"She  passed  before  my  eyes  like  a  splendid  vision  and 
thenceforth  I  had  no  light  but  in  seeking  the  light  of  her 
countenance  ;  all  that  I  had  hitherto  called  enjoyment  ceased 
to  be  such,  and  I  sought  those  higher  pleasures  which  refine 
the  heart  and  the  imagination.  Betsy  Fidoe  was  some  years 
older  than  myself.  I  earnestly  sought  thenceforth  to  acquire 
that  character  which  would  make  me  less  unworthy  of  her 
friendship,  but  ah !  how  different  were  the  views  of  my 
Heavenly  Father  from  my  own  !  Sore  misfortune  fell  upon 
the  object  of  my  idolatry ;  first  was  the  wreck  of  her  fortune, 
but  that  was  little." 

Sampson  Lloyd  then  related  that  by  con- 
tagious disease  all  the  Fidoe  family  were  swept 
away  and  Betsy  lost  her  reason  and  had  to  be  sent 

1  See  the  first  vol.,  Memoirs  of  Mrs,  Schimmelpenninck^  p.  194. 


THE   THIRD    SAMPSON    LLOYD     97 

to  an  asylum.  The  disease  was  jail  fever,  of  which 
nothing  is  now  heard  in  England.  A  medical  man 
tells  me  that  the  term  was  given  to  what  had 
been  termed  the  plague,  from  its  breaking  out  in 
insanitary  jails.  It  was  very  infectious,  and  carried 
off  indiscriminately  not  only  prisoners  and  prison 
officials,  but  also  judges  and  lawyers.  Afterwards 
it  was  almost  stamped  out,  the  comparatively  non- 
infectious  typhoid  following  it. 

"Miss  Fidoe  [Sampson  Lloyd  continued]  was  prostrate 
in  body  and  mind;  at  length,  like  the  first  ray  of  morning 
after  the  darkest  night,  away  from  all  human  influences,  she 
was  gradually  restored,  and  from  conviction  of  the  heart 
returned  to  the  usages  of  the  Friends." 

"Some  years  [he  said]  had  passed.  From  a  boy  I 
had  become  a  man;  from  a  son  dependent  on  his  father, 
I  had  entered  into  possession  of  an  independent  and  honour- 
able position.  I  knew  her  deep  affliction,  and  I  longed  to 
be  her  helper;  and  though,  in  profound  respect,  I  felt  the 
distance  greater  than  ever  between  us,  yet  I  knew  there  was 
but  one  title  under  which  a  young  man  could  acquire  a  right 
to  be  the  efficient  help  and  protector  of  a  still  young  and 
beautiful  woman.  My  heart  faltered,  yet  I  determined  to 
see  her,  and  learn  what  form  that  vision,  which  I  had  never 
yet  dared  to  behold  in  connection  with  myself,  would  assume. 
When  I  came  to  the  door  of  the  small  cottage  in  which  she 
then  lived,  and  looked  on  the  beauty  of  the  little  garden  and 
its  flowers,  I  still  recognised  the  same  hand  of  taste  and 
beauty,  and  felt  as  if  my  die  would  be  cast  when  I  looked 
on  them  next  when  quitting  the  house. 

"  I  was  ushered  into  a  little  parlour ;  I  found  myself 
alone ;  I  had  time  to  observe  the  neatness  and  delicacy,  but 
the  perfect  plainness  and  simplicity  of  all  around,  and  the 
one  vision  of  brightness  that  my  heart  had  ever  known 
appeared, — but  oh !  how  altered  !  what  a  change  had  passed 
over  her!  The  elegant  taste  of  her  dress  was  exchanged 
for  the  delicacy  of  Christian  simplicity;  in  her  eyes,  which 
had  once  been  playful  with  wit  and  kindly  brilliance,  was  now 
the  expression  of  peace,  yet  the  peace  of  a  deep  inward  life, 
constantly  varying  in  lustre  or  mantling  the  complexion  with 
shades  of  thought  and  feeling.  Truly  a  change  had  passed 

G 


98     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

over  her.  If  my  natural  reverence  for  her  had  been  increased 
by  her  misfortunes,  now  it  was  as  the  holy  reverence  we 
feel  for  one  to  whom  we  see  that  God  has  spoken,  and  by 
whom  His  voice  has  been  heard.  She  had,  indeed,  passed 
as  it  were  through  a  bitter  death  since  I  had  seen  her ;  she 
had  entered  it  in  the  beauty  of  naturalism;  she  had  risen 
from  it  in  the  beauty  of  spiritualism.  I  was  silent,  and  I 
believe  I  should  have  gone  away  without  opening  my  lips 
on  the  subject  for  which  I  expressly  came,  but  for  the 
thought  that  I  might  still  be  her  helper  and  support,  and 
her  restorer  to  that  wide  field  of  blessing  she  had  so  well 
adorned. 

"With  great  effort  to  myself  I  tried  to  begin,  but  in  a 
few  words  she  checked  my  proceeding.  She  said  she  had 
tasted  the  sweetness  of  converse  with  Heaven  in  the  deepest 
of  human  calamities,  and  though  she  cordially  and  gratefully 
thanked  me,  she  felt  thenceforth  unfit  for  earthly  things,  and 
she  looked  for  happiness  above  in  her  Heavenly  home;  that 
she  had  found  the  peace  of  God  all-sufficient,  and  she  would 
not  exchange  it  for  anything  this  earth  could  give.  She 
then  with  much  kindness  and  affection  told  me  that  she 
should  best  testify  her  deep  sense  of  the  sympathy  I  had 
shown  her  by  endeavouring  to  point  out  to  me  the  same 
inestimable  treasure  which  she  had  herself  found,  by  leading 
me  to  the  same  Good  Shepherd  who  had  taken  care  of  her; 
and  she  asked  me  to  sit  down  by  her,  and  have  a  hearts' 
conversation,  as  of  two  friends  called  by  the  same  grace, 
traversing  the  same  ocean  of  life,  and  bound  to  the  same 
port.  I  did  sit  down ;  long  and  deeply  we  conversed ;  how 
long  I  cannot  tell,  for  it  was  morning  when  I  entered,  and 
the  sun  was  fast  declining  when  I  took  my  leave.  .  .  ." 

He  continued  :  "  I  entered  that  room  admiring  a  woman  ; 
I  departed  from  it  in  deep  communion  with  an  angelic  spirit. 
I  closed  the  door  of  the  house ;  I  looked  again  at  the  flowers. 
I  had  entered  the  house  with  a  bright  vision  before  me;  it 
had  passed  away.  ...  I  felt  the  one  hope  of  my  life,  its 
one  inspiring  motive,  was  for  ever  gone.  But  then,  yes,  even 
then,  I  also  felt  that  a  seed  had  been  dropped  into  my  heart 
full  of  vitality,  even  the  seed  of  the  Kingdom,  the  manna 
from  heaven,  which  would  thenceforth  grow  and  germinate, 
and  which,  I  was  enabled  to  hope,  might  not  only  issue  in 
life  eternal,  but  was  so  even  then,  for  '  he  who  believes  hath 
everlasting  life.'  How  little  did  I  think  when  in  my  blind 


BETSY   FIDOE.  . 

After  the  fainting  at  "  Farm  "  probably  bv  Wright  oj  Derby. 


THE  THIRD   SAMPSON    LLOYD     99 

though  affectionate  zeal  I  went  to  offer  an  earthly  home  to 
this  stricken  one  that  she  had  a  home  far  better  than  any 
I  could  give  her." 

It  was  not  till  ten  years  after  this  love-affair 
that  Sampson  Lloyd  married.  The  lady  of  his 
choice  was  Rachel,  daughter  of  Samuel  Barnes, 
of  London.  She  was  only  sixteen.  They  were 
married  on  November  n,  1762,  and  they  had 
seven  sons  and  ten  daughters. 

One  of  his  acquaintances,  who  either  had  no 
children  or  only  a  poor  dozen,  said  jestingly : 
"  Lloyds  are  like  weeds  :  they  grow  apace  ;  "  but 
Sampson  Lloyd  regarded  his  brood,  large  though  it 
was,  as  insufficient.  It  is  recorded  that  when,  as 
she  sometimes  would,  his  wife  expressed  dismay 
at  all  that  so  many  children  involved,  he  would 
heroically  reply,  "  Never  mind,  the  twentieth  will 
be  the  most  welcome." 

This  Sampson  Lloyd  the  third,  who  succeeded 
his  father  in  the  management  of  Taylors  &  Lloyds 
Bank,  besides  being  one  of  the  original  partners, 
was  also  a  partner  with  his  half-brothers,  Nehemiah 
and  Charles  Lloyd,  in  the  iron  business,  and,  as 
I  have  said,  was  one  of  the  founders  in  1770  of  the 
London  bank  of  Hanbury,  Taylor,  Lloyd  &  Bowman. 

He  had  some  warm  friendships.  Among  letters 
which  have  been  preserved  are  some  from  his  friend 
Richard  Reynolds  of  Ketley  and  Coalbrookdale, 
who  was  seventeen  years  his  junior,  and  who,  as 
soon  as  he  had  acquired  ample  means,  became  a 
distinguished  philanthropist.  The  letters  show 
that  neither  the  third  Sampson  Lloyd  nor  his  friend 
Reynolds  was  unduly  absorbed  in  money-making. 
I  quote  a  few  passages  from  Richard  Reynolds.  In 
January  1770  he  writes  : — 

"I  duly  received  thy  affectionate  letter.  ...  I  wish  not 
for  many  friends,  nor  to  be  the  friend  of  many ;  but  I  would 


ioo     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

have  my  friends  more  eminent  for  virtue  than  for  under- 
standing ;  for  understanding  than  for  wealth ;  and  rich,  as  far 
as  riches  may  contribute  to  their  advancement  in  either  virtue 
or  understanding ;  and  no  farther  may  I  be  rich  myself." 

Richard  Reynolds  ends  his  letter,  after  ex- 
pressing his  approval  "  of  inoculation  against  that 
dreadful  scourge  the  small  pox,"  by  alluding  to 
the  doubts  of  others  as  to  such  a  remedy,  and 
adds,  "Let  every  man  be  fully  persuaded  in  his 
own  mind  ;  and  happy  is  he  that  condemneth  not 
himself  in  that  thing  which  he  alloweth." 

He  writes  again  from  Ketley  in  1771  : — 

"  To  be  considered  by  thee  as  thy  friend,  in  the  most 
intimate  and  endeared  sense  of  the  word,  gives  me  particular 
satisfaction.  ...  If  I  do  not  express  myself  exactly  as  thou 
hast  done,  on  the  notion  that  matches  in  friendship,  as  well 
as  in  love,  are  made  in  heaven,  I  am  sure  thou  wilt  join  me 
in  hoping,  that  whether  or  not  ours  was  made  in  heaven, 
it  may  at  least  be  admitted  there.  I  so  far  agree  in  the 
notion,  that  I  consider  a  faithful  friend  as  a  blessing  from 
the  Almighty,  if  not  the  greatest  blessing  we  can  here  enjoy. 
Friendship,  including  true  religion,  .  .  .  tends  to  insure 
celestial  happiness,  as  it  constitutes  the  greatest  part  of 
mundane  felicity.  .  .  .  Though  we  cannot  doubt  that  all  the 
twelve,  while  faithful,  were  objects  of  our  Saviour's  affectionate 
regard,  one  of  them  was  so  emphatically  distinguished  as  '  that 
disciple  whom  Jesus  loved/  This  .  .  .  suggests  the  suppli- 
catory wish  that  his  blessing  may  accompany  our  friendly 
regards  for  each  other;  then,  .  .  .  our  advancement  in  love, 
as  in  bliss,  may  only  be  bounded  by  eternity." 

In  the  year  1774  there  was  great  depression  in 
the  iron  trade,  and  prices  went  down  to  such  an 
extent  that  there  was  positive  loss  to  almost  every 
one  engaged  in  it.  Sampson  Lloyd  having  written 
to  Richard  Reynolds  about  it,  he  replied  : — 

"  I  sympathize  with  thee  under  every  disappointment ;  but 
as  disappointment  is  only  the  frustration  of  hope,  and  more 
properly  a  negative  than  a  positive  loss,  instead  of  attempting 
to  suggest  alleviating  considerations,  let  me  inform  thee  that 


THE  THIRD   SAMPSON    LLOYD     101 

under  a  recent  positive  loss  of  many  hundreds,  and  a  pro- 
bability, next  to  assurance,  of  a  still  greater,  I  endeavour 
to  reconcile  myself  to  what  I  cannot  avoid,  not  only  by 
remembering  the  important  truth  thou  mentions  'That  trial, 
and  even  adversity  is  best  for  us ! '  but  also  by  considering 
that  the  real  goods  of  life  are  to  be  purchased  by  less  money 
than  I  shall  have  left  at  last.  ...  In  general  the  peasant  enjoys 
his  coarse  fare  with  a  higher  relish  than  the  peer  his  costly 
viands,  and  I  drink  ale  equal  in  colour  and  brilliancy  to  wine, 
with  superior  satisfaction,  though  at  a  sixth  of  the  price.  .  .  ." 

He  goes  on  to  say  that  the  melody  of  birds,  the 
voice  of  winds  and  of  waters,  from  the  whispering 
of  the  breeze  to  the  shouting  of  the  storm,  from  the 
tinkling  of  the  rill  to  the  roar  of  the  ocean,  can  be 
listened  to  and  enjoyed  by  the  poor  as  well  as  by 
the  rich  ;  and  alluding  to  the  great  effects  attributed 
to  music  he  says  : — 

"  I  do  not  forget  those  which  it  is  recorded  to  have  had 
upon  Elisha,  and  upon  Saul.  ...  As  it  is  the  Almighty 
who  has  established  certain  laws  in  nature,  which  operate 
uniformly,  unless  He  is  pleased  to  suspend  them,  so  I  con- 
sider every  display  of  human  genius  as  the  effect  of  delegated 
power  from  the  Divine  origin  of  all  things,  and  only  wrong 
when  perverted  or  misapplied  by  us.  ...  The  grandeur  of 
the  scenery  of  the  visible  creation,  the  immense  ocean — 

" '  The  pomps  of  groves,  the  garniture  of  fields, 
And  all  the  dread  magnificence  of  heaven  ' — 

these  through  the  goodness  of  the  great  Creator,  who  makes 
that  which  is  the  most  valuable  the  most  common,  .  .  .  are 
offered  to  the  sight  of  all  men.  .  .  ." 

Mrs.  Schimmelpenninck  wrote  of  the  two 
brothers,  the  third  Sampson  Lloyd  and  Charles 
Lloyd,  to  whom  we  come  in  a  later  chapter,  con- 
trasting them  as  follows  : — 

"  The  person  [she  writes J]  who  most  deeply  impressed 
my  childish  mind  was  my  aged  cousin  [the  third]  Sampson 

1  Autobiography  of  Mrs.  Schimmelpenninck. 


io2     THE   LLOYDS   OF    BIRMINGHAM 

Lloyd.  His  temperament  was  very  sanguine,  and  when  young 
he  must  have  been  exceedingly  susceptible  to  all  objects  of 
taste  and  feeling,  but  then  his  hair  was  snowy  white,  and 
his  form  bowed  as  he  sat  at  Meeting.  His  countenance  bore 
traces  of  conflicts  long  past  in  a  heart  and  mind  that  could 
have  felt  exquisitely,  and  that  had  been  deeply  torn.  I  shall 
never  forget  the  beaming  expression  of  his  eye,  not  unmingled 
with  compassion,  with  which  he  looked  on  all,  especially  the 
young.  Truly  he  seemed  like  Moses  who  had  been  on  the 
Mount,  and  who  descended,  with  the  glory  still  in  his 
countenance,  to  bless  the  people.  I  seem  yet  to  see  him, 
and  look  upon  his  venerable  and  loving  countenance,  his  white 
hair,  and  the  tears  streaming  down  his  cheeks  as  he  spoke 
— tears  such  as  I  have  never  seen  before,  for  they  seemed 
to  tell  of  mingled  affection,  gratitude,  and  peaceful  joy." 

It  was  this  Sampson  Lloyd,  it  will  be  seen,  who 
had  the  interview  with  Samuel  Galton  in  1796,  as 
recorded  in  a  future  chapter. 

"Very  different,"  says  Mrs.  Schimmelpenninck,  "from 
my  cousin  Sampson  was  his  half-brother  Charles,  who  was 
twenty  years  younger.  He  too  was  a  man  of  remarkable 
character.  Whilst  my  cousin  Sampson  drew  forth  the 
religious  affections,  the  conversation  of  his  brother  tended 
to  establish  religious  foundations.  I  have  often  thought 
how  great  is  the  blessing  of  associating  both  with  those  who 
possess  the  inspiration  of  the  Spirit  of  love,  and  also  with 
those  who  are  in  the  habit  of  accurately  defining  and  strictly 
applying  truth.  It  is  good  to  have  not  only  a  loving  spirit, 
but  a  sharp  and  definite  outline  of  truth.  In  this  my  cousin 
Charles  Lloyd  was  remarkable." 

Mr.  R.  M.  Beverley,  of  Scarborough,  author 
of  Darwinism  Exposed  and  other  works,  writing 
in  his  Diary  of  his  first  visit  to  "  Farm,"  Thursday, 
July  16,  1835,  tells  us  more  of  the  third  Sampson 
Lloyd  :— 

"  I  walked  after  dinner  for  some  time  in  the  garden  with 
Mr.  Lloyd  [the  first  Samuel  Lloyd].  He  told  me  that  his 
father,  Sampson  Lloyd,  though  born  and  bred  a  Quaker,  was 
a  young  man  of  gaiety,  who,  though  he  used  occasionally 


THE   THIRD    SAMPSON   LLOYD     103 

to  attend  the  Quakers'  meetings,  yet  did  so  only  for  form's 
sake,  and  to  keep  up  an  old  custom.  He  was  a  remarkably 
handsome  young  man,  with  a  fine  tall  figure  and  comely 
face,  and  this  was  a  temptation  to  him  to  run  into  vanity. 
He  dressed  in  the  fashion  of  the  day,  visited  in  high  society, 
and  became  at  last  a  companion  of  Lords  and  Ladies. 

"It  pleased  God,  however,  that  whilst  he  was  running 
this  course,  he  should  be  arrested  by  Divine  grace  and 
converted.  A  sermon  delivered  at  one  of  the  Quakers' 
meetings  touched  him  deeply,  and  some  other  sermons  by 
the  same  minister  made  him  an  altered  man.  He  determined 
all  at  once  to  give  up  the  world,  to  hold  no  parley  with  the 
flesh,  but  to  '  tarry  not  in  all  the  plain,  but  to  hasten  to  the 
mountain.'  With  this  resolution  he  at  once  adopted  all  the 
strict  plainness  of  the  Quakers,  and  ordered  his  tailor  to 
make  him  a  sober  suit  of  Quaker  apparel.  When  the  tailor 
came  and  laid  the  clothes  down  on  the  chair,  he  felt  as  if 
they  had  brought  him  his  coffin.  It  was  a  severe  and  hard 
trial,  but  he  flinched  not  from  it;  he  cast  off  his  finery,  and 
from  that  day  forth  wore  the  Quaker  dress. 

"He  was  a  religious  and  tender-hearted  man,  and  died, 
I  trust,  in  the  faith  of  God's  elect.  Mr.  Lloyd  told  me  that 
he  had  his  correspondence  with  the  gay,  as  well  as  with  the 
religious  world.  He  finds  that  he  was  a  correspondent  on 
familiar  terms  with  some  of  the  most  fashionable  of  the 
grandees  of  his  day." 

A  recollection  of  the  third  Sampson  Lloyd  was 
given  to  some  members  of  the  family  now  living, 
by  two  of  his  grand-daughters,    Mrs.   Howard,    of 
Bruce    Grove,     Tottenham,     and     Mrs.     Fox,     of 
Falmouth.     They  were  very  young  at  the  time  of 
his   death,    but   they   remembered  well  their  aged 
grandfather,  as  "  a  venerable-looking  old  man  with 
beautiful   white    hair    resting    in    curls    upon    his 
shoulders,  led  into  the  room  by  two  of  his  sons. 
He   was   always  dressed  in  grey  clothes,  the  idea 
being,  that  the  natural  colour  of  the  wool  was  better, 
and   that  dyes  were  vain  things."     "The  Farm" 
carriage,  with  a  pair  of  bay  horses,    these   ladies 
related,  was  sent  to  the  Crescent  to  fetch  them  and 


104     THE    LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

their  parents,  Samuel  and  Rachel  Lloyd,  to  spend 
the  day  at  "Farm."  The  pleasure  of  seeing  the 
primrose  bank  in  the  spring  is  vividly  recalled. 
"This,"  as  we  read  in  Farm  and  its  Inhabitants, 
"has  been  the  delight  of  many  eyes  since  then; 
the  high  sloping  bank  near  the  fish  arbour,  the 
avenue  high  above  to  the  right,  the  deep  pool,  with 
its  wooden  palings,  on  the  left,  and  the  arbour  in 
front,  and  all  the  bank  a  fragrant  wall  of  moss  and 
dewy  leaves,  and  violets  and  primroses." 

The  serenity  of  the  third  Sampson  Lloyd  and 
of  "  Farm  "  was  disturbed  while  he  was  a  successful 
banker  by  the  death  of  one  of  his  married  daughters, 
followed  by  the  widower  making  love,  it  was  said 
to  console  himself  for  his  loss,  to  her  sister  ( '  Nancy," 
with  whom,  in  1799,  he  eloped  to  Gretna  Green, 
where  they  were  married.  Such  a  thing  was  not 
unknown  in  those  days,  and  Sampson  Lloyd  was 
not  the  only  banker  who  had  suffered.  Through 
the  courtesy  of  one  of  the  partners  in  Child's 
Bank  I  have  before  me  a  volume  relating  to  their 
bank,  from  which  the  following  is  an  extract : — 

"  One  afternoon  in  May  1782,  Lord  Westmorland  was  dining 
with  Mr.  Child  at  Temple  Bar,  and,  amongst  other  subjects 
upon  which  they  conversed,  Lord  Westmorland  said,  '  Child, 
I  wish  for  your  opinion  on  the  following  case :  Suppose  that 
you  were  in  love  with  a  girl,  and  her  Father  refused  his  con- 
sent to  the  union,  what  should  you  do  ? '  l  Why !  run  away 
with  her,  to  be  sure ! '  was  the  prompt  reply  of  Mr.  Child, 
little  thinking  at  the  time  that  it  was  his  daughter  the  querist 
was  in  love  with. 

"  Either  that  same  night  or  a  few  nights  after,  Lord  West- 
morland eloped  with  Miss  Sarah  Child,  in  a  postchaise  and 
four,  from  the  Berkeley  Square  house.  The  duenna,  who 
slept  in  the  outer  room  of  Miss  Child's  apartments,  was 
drugged  by  her  maid,  and  her  flight  was  only  discovered  by 
the  '  Charley '  (or  night  watchman)  finding  the  front  door  open 
and  raising  an  alarm.  A  hue  and  cry  arose  ere  long,  and 
Mr.  Child,  having  ordered  out  a  second  postchaise  in  which 


THE  THIRD   SAMPSON    LLOYD     105 

to  pursue  the  fugitives,  sent  on  in  advance  a  messenger,  one 
Richard  Gillam,  mounted  on  his  own  favourite  hunter,  with 
orders  to  detain  them  until  he  should  arrive. 

"Richard,  who  doubtless  changed  horses  several  times 
(unless  the  hunter  equalled  Black  Bess  in  powers  of  endur- 
ance), came  up  with  the  carriage  near  Rokeby,  in  Yorkshire, 
and  delivered  his  master's  message  to  its  occupants.  '  Shoot, 
my  Lord,'  exclaimed  Miss  Child,  who  must  have  been  a 
strong-minded  young  lady  for  her  years — only  17  (she  was 
within  two  months  of  18).  Lord  Westmorland  accordingly 
cut  short  further  discussion  by  shooting  Gillam's  horse ;  and 
when  Mr.  Child,  who  was  now  approaching  the  scene  of  action, 
saw  the  poor  beast  fall,  he  turned  back  and  would  carry  the 
pursuit  no  further. 

"  Gillam  ended  his  life  at  an  advanced  age  as  lodgekeeper 
at  Middleton  Park.  He  used  to  relate  this  adventure  with 
great  gusto,  and  from  the  tone  of  satisfaction  with  which 
'  Shoot,  my  Lord/  was  repeated  to  me J  by  one  of  his  hearers,  I 
gather  that  the  groom's  admiration  for  his  young  mistress's  spirit 
quite  outweighed  any  resentment  for  the  discomfort  which  the 
execution  of  her  order  might  have  entailed  upon  himself." 

They  were  married  on  the  i8th  of  May  1782  at 
Gretna  Green  by  the  Rev.  John  Brown,  and  married 
again  at  the  Mansion  in  Apethorpe  by  the  special 
licence  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  on  the 
7th  of  June  the  same  year — Mr.  Robert  Child  giving 
his  consent  for  the  marriage  licence,  which  was 
necessary,  his  daughter  being  a  minor. 

Apropos  of  Child's  Bank,  when  the  new  premises 
at  Temple  Bar  were  opened  for  business  in  1880, 
one  of  the  first  to  enter  was  a  small  boy  with  a  few 
coppers  in  his  hand,  who  asked  what  was  the 
smallest  sum  that  could  be  received  upon  deposit, 
as  he  wished  to  place  his  small  savings  in  safety. 
After  being  told  that  such  small  accounts  were 
never  opened,  he  explained  that  he  had  come  in 
because  he  saw  the  notice-board  on  the  steps, 
"  Entrance  to  Child's  Bank,"  and  thought  it  was  a 
bank  for  children's  money. 

1  The  Countess  of  Jersey. 


CHAPTER    XI 

DR.   JOHNSON   AND   MARY   KNOWLES 

The  great  lexicographer  at  Birmingham — Dining  at  Sampson  Lloyd's 
— The  discussion  on  Barclay's  Apology — The  doctor  in  a  rage — 
And  in  repentance — His  exploration  of  Birmingham — The  Dictionary 
— Olivia  Lloyd — Mrs.  Knowles — Boswell's  reports  of  dialectical 
bouts — Religion  and  the  rights  of  women — "The  Farm"  governess 
and  Dr.  Johnson — A  long  conversation — Thrale's  brewery 

UNTIL  1779,  when  his  father  died,  Sampson  Lloyd 
remained  in  the  Old  Square,  in  the  house  that 
had  been  the  Fidoes'.  Betsy  Fidoe  left  her  pro- 
perty to  him,  but  his  view  was  that  it  ought  to  go 
to  the  heir-at-law,  a  surgeon  named  John  Burr, 
of  Ware.  John  Burr,  however,  died  a  bachelor, 
leaving  the  property,  in  his  turn,  to  Sampson  Lloyd  ; 
so  that,  after  all,  it  came  to  him.  The  Wednes- 
bury  portion  of  it,  which  descended  to  three  of  his 
grandsons,  was  valued,  when  they  received  it,  at 
2*9000. 

It  was  at  the  Old  Square  house  that  Dr.  Johnson 
visited  Sampson  Lloyd,  in  1776.  Boswell  describes 
their  calling  first  on  Dr.  Hector,  Johnson's  old 
schoolfellow,  and  the  great  man's  annoyance  at 
being  treated  by  the  servant  as  if  only  a  poor 
patient. 

"We  next  called  [Boswell  proceeds]  on  Mr.  Lloyd,  one  of 
the  people  called  Quakers.  He  too  was  not  at  home,  but  Mrs. 
Lloyd  was,  and  received  us  courteously,  and  asked  us  to  dinner. 
Johnson  said  to  me, '  After  the  uncertainty  of  all  human  things 
at  Hector's,  this  invitation  came  very  well.'  We  walked  about 
the  town,  and  he  was  pleased  to  see  it  increasing.  .  .  . 

"  Mr.  Lloyd  joined  us  in  the  street ;  and  in  a  little  while 

106 


DR.  JOHNSON  AND  MRS.  KNOWLES  107 

we  met  Friend  Hector,  as  Mr.  Lloyd  called  him.  It  gave 
me  pleasure  to  observe  the  joy  which  Johnson  and  he  ex- 
pressed on  seeing  each  other  again.  Mr.  Lloyd  and  I  left 
them  together,  while  he  obligingly  showed  me  some  of  the 
manufactures  of  this  very  curious  assemblage  of  artificers. 
We  all  met  at  dinner  at  Mr.  Lloyd's,  where  we  were  enter- 
tained with  great  hospitality.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lloyd  had  been 
married  the  same  year  with  their  majesties,  and,  like  them,  had 
been  blessed  with  a  numerous  family  of  fine  children,  their 
numbers  being  exactly  the  same.  Johnson  said,  '  Marriage 
is  the  best  state  for  a  man  in  general;  and  every  man  is  a 
worse  man,  in  proportion  as  he  is  unfit  for  the  married  state.' 

"  I  have  always  loved  the  simplicity  of  manners,  and  the 
spiritual-mindedness,  of  the  Quakers;  and  talking  with  Mr. 
Lloyd,  I  observed,  that  the  essential  part  of  religion  was 
piety,  a  devout  intercourse  with  the  Divinity;  and  that  many 
a  man  was  a  Quaker  without  knowing  it. 

"As  Dr.  Johnson  had  said  to  me  in  the  morning,  while 
we  walked  together,  that  he  liked  individuals  among  the 
Quakers,  but  not  the  sect,  when  we  were  at  Mr.  Lloyd's, 
I  kept  clear  of  introducing  any  questions  concerning  the 
peculiarities  of  their  faith.  But  I,  having  asked  to  look  at 
Baskerville's  edition  of  Barclay's  Apology,  Johnson  laid  hold 
of  it,  and  the  chapter  on  baptism  happening  to  open,  Johnson 
remarked,  '  He  says  there  is  neither  precept  nor  practice  for 
baptism  in  the  Scriptures !  that  is  false.'  Here  [says  Boswell] 
he  was  the  aggressor,  by  no  means  in  a  gentle  manner,  and 
the  good  Quakers  had  the  advantage  of  him ;  for  he  had 
read  negligently,  and  had  not  observed  that  Barclay  speaks 
of  infant  baptism,  which  they  calmly  made  him  perceive. 

"Mr.  Lloyd,  however,  was  in  as  great  a  mistake;  for  when 
insisting  that  the  rite  of  baptism  by  water  was  to  cease,  when 
the  spiritual  administration  of  Christ  began,  he  maintained, 
that  John  the  Baptist  said,  'My  baptism  shall  decrease,  but 
his  shall  increase/  Whereas  the  words  are,  '  He  must  in- 
crease, but  /  must  decrease. ' J 

14  One  of  them  having  objected  to  the  '  observance  of  days 
and  months,  and  years,'  Johnson  answered :  '  The  church  does 
not  superstitiously  observe  days,  merely  as  days,  but  as 
memorials  of  important  facts.  Christmas  might  be  kept  as 

*  "As  to  the  baptism  of  infants,  it  is  a  mere  human  tradition,  for  which 
neither  precept  nor  practice  is  to  be  found  in  all  the  Scripture." — Barclay's 
Apology ,  Proposition  XII. 


io8     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

well  upon  one  day  of  the  year  as  another  ;  but  there  should  be 
a  stated  day  for  commemorating  the  birth  of  our  Saviour, 
because  there  is  danger  that  what  may  be  done  on  any  day, 
will  be  neglected.' " 

Tradition  says  that  Johnson  in  his  fury  with 
Barclay  flung  the  volume  on  the  floor  and  stamped 
on  it.1  And  later  that  he  continued  the  debate  at 
the  dinner-table  in  such  angry  tones,  and  struck  the 
table  so  violently,  and  continued  the  debate  with 
such  anger  that  the  two  children,  the  elder  aged 
thirteen,  were  frightened,  and  desired  to  escape. 

It  appears  that  this  was  a  midday  dinner,  for  a 
story  is  preserved  that  in  the  afternoon  the  mag- 
nanimous doctor  went  down  to  the  bank  in  Dale 
End  and  called  out  in  stentorian  tones,  "I  say, 
Lloyd,  I'm  the  best  Theologian,  but  you  are  the 
best  Christian." 

After  dinner  Johnson  explored  a  little,  and 
although  the  expedition  was  made  independently  of 
Sampson  Lloyd,  yet  such  is  the  family's  interest  in 
Birmingham  and  iron  works  that  I  may  quote  here 
what  Boswell  says  of  the  doctor's  subsequent  ad- 
ventures in  Birmingham  : — 

"  Mr.  Hector  was  so  good  as  to  accompany  me  to  see  the 
great  works  of  Mr.  Boulton,  at  a  place  which  he  has  called 
Soho,  about  two  miles  from  Birmingham,  which  the  very 
ingenious  proprietor  showed  me  himself  to  the  best  advantage. 
I  wish  Johnson  had  been  with  us :  for  it  was  a  scene  which  I 
should  have  been  glad  to  contemplate  by  his  light.  The  vast- 
ness  and  the  contrivance  of  some  of  the  machinery  would  have 
i  matched  his  mighty  mind.'  I  shall  never  forget  Mr.  Boulton's 
expression  to  me  :  '  I  sell  here,  sir,  what  all  the  world  desires 
to  have — -power'  He  had  about  seven  hundred  people  at 
work.  I  contemplated  him  as  an  iron  chieftain,  and  he  seemed 
to  be  a  father  to  his  tribe.  One  of  them  came  to  him,  com- 
plaining grievously  of  his  landlord  for  having  distrained  his 
goods.  'Your  landlord  is  in  the  right,  Smith  (said  Boulton). 

1  The   identical  volume   is  now  in  the  possession  of  Alderman  John 
Henry  Lloyd  of  Edgbaston. 


DR.  JOHNSON  AND  MRS.  KNOWLES  109 

But  I'll  tell  you  what :  find  you  a  friend  who  will  lay  down 
one  half  of  your  rent,  and  I'll  lay  down  the  other  half;  and 
you  shall  have  your  goods  again.' " 

There  is  no  record  of  any  other  visit  of  Dr. 
Johnson  to  the  Lloyds,  but  he  had  stayed  six 
months  in  Birmingham  in  1732,  forty  or  more  years 
before  the  incident  of  the  Apology,  with  his  old 
schoolfellow,  Hector,  and  for  some  months  after- 
wards he  was  in  lodgings  in  the  town.  Mr. 
Warren,  who  joined  with  Hector  in  urging  him 
to  undertake  the  translation  from  the  French  of 
Lobo's  Voyage  to  Abyssinia,  was  then  the  only 
bookseller  in  Birmingham  ;  and  as  Johnson  was 
constantly  seeing  him  about  the  printing  of  the 
work,  and  the  shop  was  no  doubt  the  chief 
meeting  place  of  the  townsmen  of  literary  tastes, 
Sampson  Lloyd  and  others  of  the  family  might 
perhaps  have  had  some  acquaintance  with  him. 
And  when,  in  1755,  the  great  Dictionary  appeared, 
the  result  of  seven  years  of  immense  mental  effort, 
the  Lloyds  and  other  Birmingham  friends  of 
Johnson  must  have  been  very  eager  to  get  a 
sight  of  it,  probably  ordering  their  copies  through 
Mr.  Warren. 

A  copy  of  this  first  edition,  in  two  volumes,  is 
among  the  most  valued  of  my  books.  In  addition 
to  many  sarcastic  definitions  and  characteristic 
comments  which  were  afterwards  expunged,  this 
edition  has  the  famous  preface  in  which  the  doctor 
describes,  with  so  much  pathos,  the  difficulties  that 
beset  his  path.  Thus:  "The  English  Dictionary 
was  written  with  little  assistance  of  the  learned, 
and  without  any  patronage  of  the  great ;  not  in 
the  soft  obscurities  of  retirement,  or  under  the 
shelter  of  academic  bowers,  but  amidst  inconveni- 
ence and  distraction,  in  sickness  and  in  sorrow." 
Boswell,  remarking  upon  Johnson's  confession, 


no     THE   LLOYDS   OF    BIRMINGHAM 

says,  "Let  the  preface  be  attentively  perused,  in 
which  is  given  in  a  clear,  strong,  and  glowing  style 
a  comprehensive  yet  particular  view  of  what  he 
had  done.  ...  I  believe  there  are  few  prose 
compositions  in  the  English  Language  that  are 
read  with  more  delight,  or  are  more  impressed  upon 
the  memory,  than  that  preliminary  discourse." 

When  Johnson  was  fifteen  he  went  for  a  year  to 
a  school  at  Stourbridge,  staying  with  his  cousin 
Cornelius  Ford.  Boswell  states  that  while  there 
he  was  admitted  to  the  best  company  of  the  place, 
"and  became  much  enamoured  of  Olivia  Lloyd," 
who  was  then  about  eighteen,  to  whom  he  indited 
some  verses,  but  the  verses  cannot  be  found. 

This  Olivia  Lloyd  was  the  youngest  child  of  the 
first  Sampson  Lloyd  and  Mary  Crowley,  his  second 
wife.  Olivia  was  therefore  aunt  to  the  third 
Sampson  Lloyd,  Dr.  Johnson's  host  in  the  Old 
Square.  She  is  described  in  Memorials  of  the  Old 
Square  as  "the  pretty  Birmingham  Quakeress." 
She  died  at  Birmingham  in  1775,  and  was  buried 
in  the  Friends'  ground  in  Bull  Lane. 

The  Lloyds  and  Dr.  Johnson  had  a  mutual 
friend  in  Mary  Knowles,  a  frequent  visitor  at 
"Farm,"  where  she  is  said  to  have  laid  out  the 
shrubbery.  She  was  the  wife  of  Dr.  Knowles,  an 
eminent  and  much-esteemed  physician  in  London. 
Mrs.  Knowles  "excelled,"  we  read,  "  in  the  polite  art 
of  poetry  and  painting,  and  the  imitation  of  nature 
in  needlework."  The  queen  expressed  a  wish  to  see 
her,  and  this  interview  and  subsequent  ones  with 
George  III.  and  his  queen  led  to  her  undertaking, 
in  needlework,  a  representation  of  the  king,  which 
she  completed,  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  their 
Majesties.  The  following  is  an  account  of  her  : — 

"  She  became  a  great  favourite  with  the  King  and  Queen, 
and  had  frequent  access  to  the  Royal  Family,  where  she 


MRS  KXOWLES. 
J'roin    "  />>;-.  Johnson    and  ike    Pair   Sex. 


DR.  JOHNSON  AND  MRS.  KNOWLES  in 

presented  herself  in  the  simplicity  of  her  Quaker  dress,  and 
was  always  graciously  received.  She  accompanied  her  husband 
in  a  scientific  tour  through  Holland,  Germany,  and  France, 
where  they  obtained  introductions  to  the  most  distinguished 
personages.  She  was  admitted  to  the  toilet  of  the  late  un- 
fortunate Queen  of  France  [Marie  Antoinette],  by  the  par- 
ticular desire  of  the  latter.  The  appearance  of  a  woman  in 
the  attire  of  a  Friend,  was  somewhat  extraordinary  to  that 
Princess,  who  made  many  inquiries  respecting  the  principles 
of  the  Quakers,  and  acknowledged  that  at  least  they  were 
philosophers.  Dr.  Knowles  was  one  of  the  Committee  of 
six  formed  by  Clarkson  to  organize  opposition  to  the  slave- 
trade.  Another  was  John  Lloyd,  a  London  Banker,  son  of 
the  second  Sampson  Lloyd." 1 

It  was  Mrs.  Knowles  (described  by  Boswell  as 
"the  Quaker  lady,  well  known  for  her  various 
talents")  who  said:  "  Dr.  Johnson  gets  at  the 
substance  of  a  book  directly  ;  he  tears  the  heart 
out  of  it."  Dr.  Johnson  and  she  had  several 
dialectical  bouts,  which  are  reported  not  only  by 
Boswell  but  also  by  her  friend  and  correspondent, 
Anna  Seward,  in  her  Letters.  Here  is  one  at  Dr. 
Dilly's  :— 

Boswell.  I  expressed  a  horrour  at  the  thought  of  death. 

Mrs.  Knowles.  Nay,  thou  should'st  not  have  a  horrour  for 
what  is  the  gate  of  life. 

Johnson  (standing-  upon  the  hearth  rolling  about,  with  a 
serious,  solemn ,  and  somewhat  gloomy  air).  No  rational  man 
can  die  without  uneasy  apprehension. 

Mrs.  Knowles.  The  Scriptures  tell  us,  "The  righteous 
shall  have  hope  in  his  death." 

Johnson.  Yes,  Madam ;  that  is,  he  shall  not  have  despair. 
But,  consider,  his  hope  of  salvation  must  be  founded  on  the 
terms  on  which  it  is  promised  that  the  mediation  of  our 
Saviour  shall  be  applied  to  us — namely,  obedience ;  and  where 
obedience  has  failed,  then,  as  suppletory  to  it,  repentance. 
But  what  man  can  say  that  his  obedience  has  been  such,  as  he 
would  approve  of  in  another,  or  even  in  himself  upon  close 

1  From  Select  Miscellanies  .  .  .  illustrative  of  the  History  .  .  .  of  the 
Society  of  Friends.  By  Wilson  Armistead,  1851. 


ii2     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

examination,  or  that  his  repentance  has  not  been  such  as  to 
require  being  repented  of?  No  man  can  be  sure  that  his 
obedience  and  repentance  will  obtain  salvation. 

Mrs.  Knowles.  But  divine  intimation  of  acceptance  may  be 
made  to  the  soul. 

Jo/mson.  Madam,  it  may ;  but  I  should  not  think  the  better 
of  a  man  who  should  tell  me  on  his  death-bed  he  was  sure  of 
salvation.  A  man  cannot  be  sure  himself  that  he  has  divine 
intimation  of  acceptance ;  much  less  can  he  make  others  sure 
that  he  has  it. 

Boswell.  Then,  Sir,  we  must  be  contented  to  acknowledge 
that  death  is  a  terrible  thing. 

Johnson.  Yes,  Sir.  I  have  made  no  approaches  to  a  state 
which  can  look  on  it  as  not  terrible. 

Mrs.  Knowles  (seeming  to  enjoy  a  pleasing  serenity  in  the 
persuasion  of  benignant  divine  light}.  Does  not  St.  Paul  say, 
"  I  have  fought  the  good  fight  of  faith,  I  have  finished  my 
course ;  henceforth  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  life  "  ? 

Johnson.  Yes,  Madam ;  but  here  was  a  man  inspired,  a 
man  who  had  been  converted  by  supernatural  interposition. 

On  the  same  evening  Mrs.  Knowles  had  pleased 
the  doctor  by  one  of  her  remarks.  The  party  were 
discussing  Soame  Jenyns'  view  of  the  internal 
evidence  of  the  Christian  religion.  Boswell  said, 
addressing  Mrs.  Knowles  : — 

You  should  like  his  book,  Mrs.  Knowles,  as  it  maintains,  as 
your  friends  do,  that  courage  is  not  a  Christian  virtue. 

Mrs.  Knowles.  Yes,  indeed,  I  like  him  there  ;  but  I  cannot 
agree  with  him,  that  friendship  is  not  a  Christian  virtue. 

Johnson.  Why,  Madam,  strictly  speaking,  he  is  right.  All 
friendship  is  preferring  the  interest  of  a  friend,  to  the  neglect, 
or,  perhaps,  against  the  interest  of  others;  so  that  an  old 
Greek  said,  "  He  that  has  friends  has  no  friend!'  Now  Chris- 
tianity recommends  universal  benevolence,  to  consider  all  men 
as  our  brethren,  which  is  contrary  to  the  virtue  of  friendship, 
as  described  by  the  ancient  philosophers.  Surely,  Madam, 
your  sect  must  approve  of  this  ;  for,  you  call  all  -m^u  friends. 

Mrs.  Knowles.  We  are  commanded  to  do  good  to  all  men, 
"  but  especially  to  them  who  are  of  the  household  of  Faith." 

Johnson.  Well,  Madam,  the  Household  of  Faith  is  wide 
enough. 


DR.  JOHNSON  AND  MRS.  KNOWLES   113 

Mrs.  Knowles.  But,  Doctor,  our  Saviour  had  twelve 
apostles,  yet  there  was  one  whom  he  loved.  John  was  called, 
"  the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved." 

Johnson  (with  eyes  sparkling  benignantly].  Very  well 
indeed,  Madam.  You  have  said  very  well. 

BoswelL  A  fine  application.  Pray,  Sir,  had  you  ever 
thought  of  it  ? 

Johnson.  I  had  not,  Sir. 

And  here  is  Mrs.  Knowles  on  a  subject  which  is 
just  now,  as  I  write,  of  especial  interest,  the  rights 
of  women  : — 

Mrs.  Knowles  affected  to  complain  that  men  had  much  more 
liberty  allowed  them  than  women. 

Johnson.  Why,  Madam,  women  have  all  the  liberty  they 
should  wish  to  have.  We  have  all  the  labour  and  the  danger, 
and  the  women  all  the  advantage.  We  go  to  sea,  we  build 
houses,  we  do  everything,  in  short,  to  pay  our  court  to  the 
women. 

Mrs.  Knowles.  The  Doctor  reasons  very  wittily,  but  not 
convincingly.  Now,  take  the  instance  of  building;  the  mason's 
wife,  if  she  is  ever  seen  in  liquor,  is  ruined ;  the  mason  may 
get  himself  drunk  as  often  as  he  pleases,  with  little  loss  of 
character ;  nay,  may  let  his  wife  and  children  starve. 

Johnson.  Madam,  you  must  consider  if  the  mason  does  get 
himself  drunk,  and  let  his  wife  and  children  starve,  the  parish 
will  oblige  him  to  find  security  for  their  maintenance.  We 
have  different  modes  of  restraining  evil.  Stocks  for  the  men, 
a  ducking-stool  for  women,  and  a  pound  for  beasts.  If  we 
require  more  perfection  from  women  than  from  ourselves,  it  is 
doing  them  honour.  And  women  have  not  the  same  temptations 
that  we  have :  they  may  always  live  in  virtuous  company ; 
men  must  mix  in  the  world  indiscriminately.  If  a  woman  has 
no  inclination  to  do  what  is  wrong,  being  secured  from  it  is  no 
restraint  to  her.  I  am  at  liberty  to  walk  into  the  Thames; 
but  if  I  were  to  try  it,  my  friends  would  restrain  me  in  Bedlam, 
and  I  should  be  obliged  to  them. 

Mrs.  Knowles.  Still,  Doctor,  I  cannot  help  thinking  it  a 
hardship  that  more  indulgence  is  allowed  to  men  than  to 
women.  It  gives  a  superiority  to  men,  to  which  I  do  not  see 
how  they  are  entitled. 

Johnson.  It  is  plain,  Madam,  one  or  other  must  have  the 

H 


1 14     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

superiority.  As  Shakespeare  says,  "  If  two  men  ride  on  a 
horse,  one  must  ride  behind." 

Dilly.  I  suppose,  Sir,  Mrs.  Knowles  would  have  them  to 
ride  in  panniers,  one  on  each  side. 

Johnson.  Then,  Sir,  the  horse  would  throw  them  both. 

Mrs.  Knowles.  Well,  I  hope  that  in  another  world  the 
sexes  will  be  equal. 

Boswell.  That  is  being  too  ambitious,  Madam.  We  might 
as  well  desire  to  be  equal  with  the  angels.  We  shall  all,  I 
hope,  be  happy  in  a  future  state,  but  we  must  not  expect  to  be 
all  happy  in  the  same  degree.  It  is  enough  if  we  be  happy 
according  to  our  several  capacities.  A  worthy  carman  will 
get  to  heaven  as  well  as  Sir  Isaac  Newton.  Yet,  though 
equally  good,  they  will  not  have  the  same  degrees  of  happi- 
ness. 

Johnson.  Probably  not. 

A  controversy  which  Mrs.  Knowles  had  with  the 
doctor,  arising  out  of  the  conversion  to  Quakerism 
of  Miss  Harry,  the  daughter  of  a  wealthy  West 
Indian  planter,  who  was  then  acting  as  the  gover- 
ness at  "Farm,"  led  to  the  writing  of  the  doctor's 
verses  beginning,  "A  bone  for  Friend  Mary  to 
pick."  Mrs.  Knowles'  answer  was  entitled,  "The 
bone  picked."  Boswell's  account  of  the  argument 
between  Mrs.  Knowles  and  the  doctor,  concerning 
Jane  Harry,  runs  as  follows  : — 

Mrs.  Knowles  mentioned,  as  a  proselyte  to  Quakerism, 

Miss  ,  a  young  lady  well  known  to  Dr.  Johnson,  for 

whom  he  had  shown  much  affection  ;  while  she  ever  had,  and 
still  retained,  a  great  respect  for  him.  Mrs.  Knowles  at  the 
same  time  took  an  opportunity  of  letting  him  know  "  that  the 
amiable  young  creature  was  sorry  at  finding  that  he  was 
offended  at  her  leaving  the  Church  of  England  and  embracing 
a  simpler  faith  " ;  and  in  the  gentlest  and  most  persuasive 
manner,  solicited  his  kind  indulgence  for  what  was  sincerely  a 
matter  of  conscience. 

Johnson  (frowning  very  angrily].  Madam,  she  is  an  odious 
wench.  She  could  not  have  any  proper  conviction  that  it  was 
her  duty  to  change  her  religion,  which  is  the  most  important 
of  all  subjects,  and  should  be  studied  with  all  care,  and  with 


DR.  JOHNSON  AND  MRS.  KNOWLES   115 

all  the  help  we  can  get.  She  knew  no  more  of  the  Church 
which  she  left  and  that  which  she  embraced,  than  she  did  of 
the  difference  between  the  Copernican  and  Ptolemaick  systems'. 

Mrs.  Knowles.  She  had  the  New  Testament  before  her. 

Johnson.  Madam,  she  could  not  understand  the  New  Tes- 
tament, the  most  difficult  book  in  the  world,  for  which  the 
study  of  a  life  is  required. 

Mrs.  Knowles.  It  is  clear  as  to  essentials. 

Johnson.  But  not  as  to  controversial  points.  The  heathens 
were  easily  converted,  because  they  had  nothing  to  give  up ; 
but  we  ought  not,  without  very  strong  conviction  indeed,  to 
desert  the  religion  in  which  we  have  been  educated.  That  is 
the  religion  given  you,  the  religion  in  which  it  may  be  said 
Providence  has  placed  you.  If  you  live  conscientiously  in  that 
religion,  you  may  be  safe.  But  errour  is  dangerous  indeed,  if 
you  err  when  you  choose  a  religion  for  yourself. 

Mrs.  Knowles.  Must  we  then  go  by  implicit  faith  ? 

Johnson.  Why,  Madam,  the  greatest  part  of  our  knowledge 
is  implicit  faith  ;  and  as  to  religion,  have  we  heard  all  that 
a  disciple  of  Confucius,  all  that  a  Mahometan,  can  say  for 
himself  ? 

He  then  rose  again  into  passion,  and  attacked  the  young 
proselyte  in  the  severest  terms  of  reproach,  so  that  both  the 
ladies  seemed  to  be  much  shocked. 

Mrs.  Knowles  subsequently  wrote  her  own 
recollections  of  the  whole  dialogue  concerning 
"The  Farm"  governess  and  sent  it  to  the  Gen- 
tleman s  Magazine  for  June  1791.  It  runs  as 
follows  : — 

Mrs.  K.  Thy  friend  Jenny  H.  [the  Governess  at  Farm, 
Jane  Harry]  desires  her  Kind  respects  to  thee,  Doctor. 

Dr.  J.  To  me ! — Tell  me  not  of  her !  I  hate  the  odious 
wench  for  her  apostasy,  and  it  is  you,  Madam,  who  have 
seduced  her  from  the  Christian  Religion. 

Mrs.  K.  This  is  a  heavy  charge,  indeed.  I  must  beg 
leave  to  be  heard  in  my  own  defence ;  and  I  entreat  the 
attention  of  the  present  learned  and  candid  company,  desiring 
that  they  will  judge  how  far  I  am  able  to  clear  myself  of  so 
cruel  an  accusation. 

Dr.  J.  (much  disturbed  at  this  unexpected  challenge^  said), 
You  are  a  woman,  and  I  give  you  quarter. 


u6     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

Mrs.  K.  I  will  not  take  quarter.  There  is  no  sex  in  souls ; 
and  in  the  present  case  I  fear  not  Dr.  Johnson  himself. 

("  Bravo ! "  was  repeated  by  the  company,  and  silence 
ensued.) 

Dr.  J.  Well  then,  Madam,  I  persist  in  my  charge,  that 
you  have  seduced  Miss  H from  the  Christian  Religion. 

Mrs.  K.  If  thou  really  knowest  what  are  the  principles  of 
the  Friends,  thou  wouldst  not  say  that  she  had  departed  from 
Christianity.  But,  waving  that  discussion  for  the  present,  I 
will  take  the  liberty  to  observe,  that  she  had  an  undoubted  right 
to  examine  and  change  her  educational  tenets  whenever  she 
supposed  she  had  found  them  erroneous;  as  an  accountable 
creature,  it  was  her  duty  to  do  so. 

Dr.  J.  Pshaw  !  pshaw ! — an  accountable  creature — girls 
accountable  creatures  ! — It  was  her  duty  to  remain  with  the 
Church  wherein  she  was  educated  ;  she  had  no  business  to 
leave  it. 

Mrs.  K.  What !  not  for  that  which  she  apprehended  to 
be  better?  According  to  this  rule,  Doctor,  hadst  thou  been 
born  in  Turkey,  it  had  been  thy  duty  to  remain  a  Mahometan, 
notwithstanding  Christian  evidence  might  have  wrought  in  thy 
mind  the  clearest  conviction;  and  if  so,  then  let  me  ask,  how 
would  thy  conscience  have  answered  for  such  obstinacy  at  the 
great  and  last  tribunal  ? 

Dr.  J.  My  conscience  would  not  have  been  answerable. 

Mrs.  K.  Whose  then  would  ? 

Dr.  J.  Why,  the  State,  to  be  sure.  In  adhering  to  the 
religion  of  the  State  as  by  law  established,  our  implicit 
obedience  therein  becomes  our  duty. 

Mrs.  K.  A  Nation,  or  State,  having  a  conscience  is  a 
doctrine  entirely  new  to  me,  and  indeed  a  very  curious  piece 
of  intelligence ;  for  I  have  always  understood  that  a  Govern- 
ment or  State  is  a  creature  of  time  only,  beyond  which  it 
dissolves  and  becomes  a  nonentity.  Now,  gentlemen,  can 
your  imagination  body  forth  this  monstrous  individual,  or 
being,  called  a  State,  composed  of  millions  of  people  ?  Can 
you  behold  it  stalking  forth  into  the  next  world,  loaded  with 
its  mighty  conscience,  there  to  be  rewarded  or  punished,  for 
the  faith,  opinions,  and  conduct  of  its  constituent  machines, 
called  men  ?  Surely  the  teeming  brain  of  poetry  never  held 
up  to  the  fancy  so  wondrous  a  personage  ! 

( When  the  laugh  occasioned  by  this  personification  was 
subsided  the  Doctor  very  angrily  replied)^  I  regard  not  what 


DR.  JOHNSON  AND  MRS.  KNOWLES  117 

you  say  as  to  that  matter.  I  hate  the  arrogance  of  the  wench, 
in  supposing  herself  a  more  competent  judge  of  religion  than 
those  who  educated  her.  She  imitated  you,  no  doubt;  but 
she  ought  not  to  have  presumed  to  determine  for  herself  so 
important  an  affair. 

Mrs.  K.  True,  Doctor,  I  grant  it,  if,  as  thou  seemst  to 
imply,  a  wench  of  twenty  years  is  not  a  moral  agent. 

Dr.  J.  I  doubt  it  would  be  difficult  to  prove  that  those 
deserve  the  character  who  turn  Quakers. 

Mrs.  K.  This  severe  retort,  Doctor,  induces  me  charitably 
to  hope  thou  must  be  totally  unacquainted  with  the  principles 
of  the  people  against  whom  thou  art  so  exceedingly  prejudiced, 
and  that  thou  supposes  us  a  set  of  Infidels,  or  Deists. 

Dr.  J.  Certainly,  I  do  think  you  little  better  than  Deists. 

Mrs.  K.  This  is  indeed  strange ;  'tis  passing  strange  that 
a  man  of  such  universal  reading  and  research  has  not  thought  it 
at  least  expedient  to  look  into  the  cause  of  dissent  of  a  society 
so  long  established,  and  so  conspicuously  singular ! 

Dr.  J.  Not  I,  indeed !  I  have  not  read  your  Barclay's 
Apology ;  and  for  this  plain  reason,  I  never  thought  it  worth 
my  while.  You  are  upstart  Sectaries,  perhaps  the  best  sub- 
dued by  a  silent  contempt. 

Mrs.  K.  This  reminds  me  of  the  language  of  the  Rabbis 
of  old  when  their  Hierarchy  was  alarmed  by  the  increasing 
influence,  force,  and  simplicity  of  dawning  Truth,  in  their 
high-day  of  worldly  dominion.  We  meekly  trust  our  principles 
stand  on  the  same  solid  foundation  of  simple  truth,  and  we 
invite  the  acutest  investigation.  The  reason  thou  givest  for 
not  having  read  Barclay's  Apology  is  surely  a  very  improper 
one  for  a  man  whom  the  world  looks  up  to  as  a  Moral 
Philosopher  of  the  first  rank ;  a  Teacher  from  whom  they  think 
they  have  a  right  to  expect  much  information.  To  this  ex- 
pecting, enquiring  world,  how  can  Dr.  Johnson  acquit  himself 
for  remaining  unacquainted  with  a  book  translated  into  five 
or  six  different  languages,  and  which  has  been  admitted  into 
the  libraries  of  almost  every  Court  and  University  in  Christen- 
dom !  {Here  the  Doctor  grew  very  angry,  still  more  so  at 
the  space  of  time,  wherein  the  gentlemen  insisted  on  allowing 
his  antagonist  wherein  to  make  her  defence,  and  his  impatience 
exciting  one  of  the  company  in  a  whisper  to  say,  "  I  never 
saw  this  mighty  lion  so  chafed  before."  The  Doctor  again 
repeated  that  he  did  not  think  the  Quakers  deserved  the  name 
of  Christians^) 


n8     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

Mrs.  K.  Give  me  leave  then  to  convince  thee  of  thy 
error,  which  I  will  do  by  making  before  thee  and  this  re- 
spectable company  a  confession  of  our  faith.  Creeds  or 
confessions  of  faith  are  admitted  by  all  to  be  the  standard 
whereby  we  judge  every  denomination  of  professors. 

(To  this  every  one  present  agreed ;  and  even  the  Doctor 
grumbled  out  his  assent?)  Well  then,  I  take  upon  me  to 
declare,  that  the  people  called  Quakers  do  verily  believe  in 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  rejoice  with  the  most  full  reverential 
acceptance  of  the  divine  history  of  facts  as  recorded  in  the 
New  Testament.  That  we  consequently  fully  believe  those 
historical  articles  summed  up  in  the  Apostles'  Creed,  with 
these  two  exceptions  only,  to  wit,  our  Saviour's  descent  into 
Hell,  and  the  resurrection  of  the  body.  These  mysteries  we 
humbly  leave  just  as  they  stand  in  the  holy  text,  there  being 
from  that  ground  no  authority  for  such  assertion  as  is  drawn 
up  in  the  Creed.  And  now,  Doctor,  canst  thou  still  deny  to 
us  the  honourable  title  of  Christians  ? 

Dr.  J.  Well !  I  must  own  I  did  not  at  all  suppose  that 
you  had  so  much  to  say  for  yourselves.  However,  I  cannot 
forgive  that  little  slut  for  presuming  to  take  upon  herself  as 
she  has  done. 

Mrs.  K.  I  hope,  Doctor,  thou  wilt  not  remain  unforgiving, 
and  that  you  will  renew  your  friendship  and  joyfully  meet  at 
last  in  those  bright  regions  where  Pride  and  Prejudice  can 
never  enter ! * 

Dr.  J.  Meet  her !  I  never  desire  to  meet  fools  anywhere. 
( This  sarcastic  turn  to  wit  was  so  pleasantly  received^  that  the 
Doctor  joined  in  the  laugh;  his  spleen  was  dissipated ;  he  took 
his  coffee y  and  became,  for  the  rest  of  the  evening^  very  cheerful 
and  entertaining?} 

Before  leaving  this  point  I  should  like  to  say 
that,  according  to  Anna  Seward,  Miss  Harry,  who 
had  become  a  protegee  of  Mrs.  Knowles,  was  very 
cruelly  treated  by  her  father,  quite  in  the  old  spirit 
of  persecution  to  which  the  early  Lloyds  were 
accustomed  ;  for  on  hearing  of  her  inclination  to 
Quakerism  he  told  her  that  she  would  have  to 

1  It  has  been  suggested  that  Miss  Austen  took  the  title  of  her  book, 
Pride  and  Prejudice,  from  this  remark  by  Mrs.  Knowles  ;  but  that  she  found 
it  in  Miss  Burney  is  more  probable. 


DR.    SAMUKL   JOHNSON. 

After  the  painting   by    Reynolds. 


DR.  JOHNSON  AND  MRS.  KNOWLES   119 

choose  between  a  hundred  thousand  pounds  and 
his  favour  or  two  thousand  pounds  and  his  re- 
nunciation, according  as  she  remained  a  Church- 
woman  or  joined  the  Society  of  Friends.  Miss 
Harry  chose  the  two  thousand  pounds.  Such  is 
Miss  Seward's  story.  It  is,  however,  only  fair  to 
say  that  Croker,  in  his  edition  of  Boswell,  tells  a 
different  tale. 

Boswell  relates  that  when  once  he,  Dr.  Johnson, 
and  Mrs.  Knowles  went  to  look  at  a  picture  with 
the  famous  John  Wilkes  of  the  North  Briton^ 
Wilkes  declared  that  Johnson  instead  of  looking 
at  the  picture  spent  the  time  in  looking  at  the 
fair  Quakeress,  as  the  more  interesting  picture 
to  him. 

The  Lloyds  had  another  slight  connection  with 
Dr.  Johnson,  in  that  David  Barclay,  who  married 
the  second  Sampson  Lloyd's  daughter,  bought 
Thrale's  brewery,  which  he  carried  on  in  conjunc- 
tion with  his  son-in-law,  Richard  Gurney,  Robert 
Barclay,  and  Mr.  Perkins,  under  the  style  of 
Barclay,  Perkins  &  Co.  It  became  a  very  profit- 
able investment,  bringing  to  the  partners  a  large 
income.  It  was  valued  at  Thrale's  death  at 
,£150,000,  but  "as  no  set  of  men  could  be  found 
to  give  so  much,  it  was  sold  with  the  stock  in 
trade  for  .£120,000."  Mr.  Thrale  was,  of  course, 
the  husband  of  Mrs.  Thrale  (afterwards  Mrs. 
Piozzi),  Dr.  Johnson's  great  friend  and  almost 
Muse,  and  Dr.  Johnson  was  one  of  Mr.  Thrale's 
executors.  Johnson  himself  was  at  the  sale  of 
the  brewery,  remarking  to  one  of  the  negotiators, 
"We  are  not  here  to  sell  a  parcel  of  boilers  and 
vats,  but  the  potentiality  of  growing  rich,  beyond 
the  dreams  of  avarice." 


* 


CHAPTER    XII 

THE    GALTONS 

The  Society  of  Friends  in  Birmingham — Bull  Street  Meeting-house — 
Tainted  money — Quakers  and  force — Gun-making  and  Christianity 
—The  third  Sampson  Lloyd  as  ambassador — Samuel  Galton's 
letters  —  Dr.  Livingstone's  testimony  —  War  and  peace — George 
Dawson — Later  Gallons — Dr.  Francis  Galton  and  heredity — The 
Rev.  Arthur  Galton 

THE  existence  of  Friends  in  Birmingham  is  recorded 
as  early  as  1682,  sixteen  years  before  the  arrival  of 
the  first  Lloyd  in  1698.  Hutton  is  of  opinion  that 
adherents  may  have  previously  gathered  together, 
probably  in  meetings  held  from  house  to  house. 
The  original  meeting-place  in  Birmingham  was  in 
Bull  Lane,  Monmouth  Street,  where  the  old  burial- 
ground  existed  until  it  was  taken  possession  of 
by  the  Great  Western  Railway. 

The  meeting-house  in  Bull  Street  was  erected 
between  1702  and  1705.  Hutton  describes  it  in 
1781  as  "a  large  and  convenient  place,  and  not- 
withstanding the  plainness  of  the  profession,  rather 
elegant."  In  1792  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
collect  subscriptions  for  its  enlargement,  as  it  was 
then  the  only  place  of  worship  in  the  town  for  the 
Society  of  Friends.  This  appeal  was  the  means  of 
raising  a  very  interesting  ethical  point  ;  for  Joseph 
Robinson,  one  of  the  Friends,  wrote  to  the  com- 
mittee as  follows  :— 

"  When  so  many  eyes  are  opened  to  scrutinize  into  the 
several  branches  of  the  African  trade, — the  minutest  of  which 
are  likely  to  be  weighed  and  exposed,  the  supplying  of  slightly 


THE   GALTONS 

proved  guns  to  the  Merchants  of  the  coast  of  Guinea,  doubt- 
less to  be  used  by  the  natives  in  their  wars  with  each  other, 
and  for  us  to  receive  part  of  the  thousands  of  pounds  which 
have  probably  been  accumulated  by  a  40  years'  commerce 
in  these  articles,  and  apply  it  to  the  use  of  Friends,  is,  I  think, 
a  matter  which  requires  your  very  serious  consideration." 

This  letter  raised  the  question  whether  any  of 
the  money  made  out  of  the  sale  of  weapons  of  de- 
struction should  be  accepted  by  the  committee. 
No  names  were  mentioned  in  the  letter,  but  as 
Samuel  Galton,  and  his  son  Samuel  Galton,  junior, 
were  the  only  two  members  of  the  meeting  who 
were  gun-makers,  it  evidently  referred  to  them. 
Samuel  Galton,  senior,  soon  afterwards  retired, 
when  Sampson  Lloyd  (the  third)  and  two  other 
Friends  were  appointed  to  see  Samuel  Galton, 
junior,  upon  the  subject. 

The  Galtons  had  prospered  greatly  in  the  gun 
trade,  and  until  the  year  1795  the  meeting  took 
no  official  action  with  reference  to  those  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  arms.  Samuel  Galton  and 
Sampson  Lloyd,  well  read  in  Barclay's  Apology  and 
other  writings  of  the  early  Friends,  would  know 
what  the  testimony  against  war  was,  as  expressed 
by  them.  Isaac  Pennington,  for  instance,  express- 
ing the  views  of  himself  and  other  Friends  of  his 
time,  says  :  "I  speak  not  against  any  magistrate, 
or  people  defending  themselves  against  foreign 
invasions,  or  making  use  of  the  sword  to  suppress 
the  violent  and  evil-doers  in  their  borders  ;  for  this 
the  present  state  of  things  may  and  doth  require  ; 
and  a  great  blessing  will  attend  the  sword  when 
it  is  borne  uprightly." 

"  In  these  circumstances,"  writes  C.  D.  Sturge, 
"it  is  not  wonderful  that  the  Friends  in  Birming- 
ham were  very  loath  to  proceed  against  such  able 
and  respected  members  as  the  Galtons." 


122     THE   LLOYDS   OF    BIRMINGHAM 

Sampson  Lloyd  and  the  other  two  Friends, 
when  they  visited  Samuel  Galton  on  behalf  of  the 
Society,  were  confronted  with  the  argument  that 
they  were  going  beyond  the  views  formerly  held 
by  members  of  the  Society  on  the  use  of  physical 
force,  as  stated  in  Penn's  Fundamental  Constitu- 
tions. In  the  first  article  Penn  states,  with  regard 
to  physical  force,  "that  both  Christ  did  not  use 
force,  and  that  He  did  not  expressly  forbid  it  in  His 
holy  religion  ;  "  but  "perceiving  the  disorders  and 
mischiefs  that  attend  those  places  where  force 
is  used  in  matters  of  faith  and  worship,"  Penn 
decided  to  disallow  it  in  Pennsylvania.  He  wrote 
as  follows  :  "  I  do  hereby  declare  for  me  and  mine, 
and  establish  it  for  the  first  fundamental  of  the 
government  of  my  country,  that  every  person  that 
does  or  shall  reside  therein  shall  have  and  enjoy 
the  free  possession  of  his  or  her  faith  and  exercise 
of  worship  towards  God  in  such  way  and  manner 
as  every  person  shall  in  conscience  believe  it  to  be 
most  acceptable  to  God." 

In  legal  affairs  very  great  weight  is  attached 
to  precedent ;  and,  up  to  the  time  of  the  present 
generation,  great  weight  has  equally  been  attached 
to  precedent  by  the  Society  of  Friends.  In  my 
early  days  the  views  of  George  Fox,  William 
Penn,  and  Barclay,  the  author  of  the  Apology, 
were  quoted  as  those  by  which  their  fellow- 
members  were  bound  for  all  time.  It  must  not 
therefore  be  considered  an  unallowable  digression 
if  William  Penn  is  thus  referred  to  in  connection 
with  Samuel  Galton's  appeal  to  the  early  views  of 
Friends. 

Sampson  Lloyd  would  doubtless  point  out  to 
Samuel  Galton  that  the  views  of  the  Society  as  to 
the  unlawfulness  of  war  were  identical  with  those 
held  by  the  earliest  converts  to  Christianity  in  the 


THE   GALTONS  123 

first  and  second  centuries,  and  that  the  Society  as 
a  body,  as  their  official  documents  prove,  had  held 
them  continuously  and  consistently.  He  would  be 
able  to  remind  him  that  the  Friends  in  Pennsylvania 
had  remained  true  to  their  principles  notwith- 
standing times  of  great  unsettlement  and  opposi- 
tion to  their  views,  and  could  instance  1764,  when 
a  body  of  Presbyterian  settlers  from  the  north  of 
Ireland  arriving  in  Pennsylvania  were  fiercely  exas- 
perated against  all  Indians  and  madly  desirous 
to  avenge  the  sufferings  which  other  settlers  had 
received  at  their  hands.  Their  pastor,  John  Elder, 
preached  a  militant  Christianity  to  them  from  the 
pulpit,  with  his  loaded  rifle  by  his  side,  and  the 
anger  of  these  irate  settlers  having  been  thus 
intensely  aroused  his  subsequent  endeavours  to 
restrain  them  were  futile,  and  the  Pennsylvania 
Quakers  who  from  time  to  time  had  helped  the 
Indians  were  told  that  if  they  defended  them 
"they  would  be  murdered."  Notwithstanding  this 
threat  Galton  would  be  told  that  the  Friends  in 
Pennsylvania  remained  true  to  their  principles ; 
for  in  the  autumn  of  that  year,  1764,  the  yearly 
meeting  of  Philadelphia  wrote  a  long  letter  on  the 
subject  to  their  London  brethren  ;  and  Sampson 
Lloyd,  who  was  twice  clerk  to  the  Friends'  yearly 
meeting  in  London,1  would  have  heard  all  about  it. 
One  of  the  two  Friends  who  accompanied 
Sampson  Lloyd  in  his  interview  with  the  able  and 
accomplished  Samuel  Galton  was  the  great-grand- 
father of  .Alderman  Baker  of  Birmingham  ;  the 
other  was  Joseph  Gibbins,  the  grandfather  of 
W.  B.  Gibbins  of  Ettington,  near  Stratford-on- 
Avon.  The  interview  resulted  in  Mr.  Galton's 
sending  the  following  letter,  which  is  such  a  clear, 

1  In  1777,  and    again  in  1782,  the  Yearly   Meeting  Epistle   bears   his 
signature  as  clerk. 


i24     THE   LtOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

argumentative,  and  able  statement,   that  I  give  it 
in  full  :— 

"  I  have  been  visited  on  the  part  of  the  Monthly  Meeting 
by  my  worthy  Friends  Sampson  Lloyd,  Samuel  Baker  and 
Joseph  Gibbins,  whose  candid  and  liberal  conduct  to  me  on 
this  occasion  I  acknowledge. 

"  My  grandfather,  afterwards  my  Uncle,  then  my  father 
and  Uncle,  and  lastly  my  father  and  myself  have  been  en- 
gaged in  this  manufacture  for  a  period  of  70  years  without 
having  before  received  any  animadversion  on  the  part  of  the 
Society.  I  have  been  engaged  in  the  business  from  the  year 
1777,  and  it  was  not  till  the  year  1790  that  the  Minute  (of 
the  Yearly  Meeting)  was  made  under  which  this  process 
against  me  is  founded. 

"  I  am  convinced  by  my  feelings  and  my  reason  that  the 
manufacture  of  arms  implies  no  approbation  of  offensive  war. 
Will  any  person  for  a  moment  suppose  that  as  a  manufacturer 
it  is  my  object  to  encourage  the  principle  or  practice  of  war, 
or  that  I  propose  to  myself  any  other  end  than  that  which 
all  other  commercial  persons  propose ;  the  acquisition  of 
property  ?  And  although  it  is  true  that  in  too  many  instances 
side  arms  are  employed  in  offensive  wars,  yet  it  ought  in 
candour  to  be  considered  that  they  are  equally  applicable  to  the 
purposes  of  defensive  war,  to  the  support  of  the  Civil  Power, 
to  the  preservation  of  peace  and  the  prevention  of  war.  If 
the  arguments  from  the  abuse  are  to  be  admitted  against  the 
use,  objections  may  be  made  against  every  institution. 

"  Is  the  farmer  who  sows  barley,  the  brewer  who  makes 
it  into  a  beverage,  the  merchant  who  imports  rum,  or  the 
distiller  who  makes  spirits,  are  they  responsible  for  the  in- 
temperance, the  disease,  the  vice,  and  misery  which  may  ensue 
from  their  abuse  ?  Upon  this  principle  who  would  be  innocent? 
I  know  that  there  are  certain  texts  from  which  some  of  our 
Society  have  drawn  literal  inferences  against  all  kinds  of 
resistance. 

"  Permit  me  to  enquire  whether  any  of  you  carry  the 
literal  interpretation  into  your  own  practice.  When  smitten 
on  one  cheek,  do  you  actually  turn  the  other  side  ? 

"  Permit  me  to  refer  to  the  practice  and  the  sentiments 
of  our  predecessors;  my  grandfather,  who  was  the  first  of 
my  family  concerned  in  the  manufacture  of  arms,  and  from 
whom  the  trade  has  descended  to  me,  was  a  convinced 


THE   GALTONS  125 

Quaker;  George  Robinson,  a  Friend  of  this  Meeting  and 
Son  of  Thomas  Robinson,  an  approved  minister  long  since 
deceased,  was  bound  apprentice  to  a  gun-maker  without  any 
censure  from  the  Society.  Samuel  Spavold,  a  minister  in 
high  esteem  in  the  Society,  worked  many  years  in  the  King's 
Yard,  Chatham.  Do  not  such  of  you  as  are  concerned  in 
East  India  Stock,  who  subscribed  to  the  loan,  etc.,  as  directly 
and  as  voluntarily  furnish  the  means  of  war  as  myself?  Do 
not  all  those  who  voluntarily  and  without  being  distrained 
upon,  pay  the  land  tax  and  the  malt  tax  which  are  voted  and 
levied  from  year  to  year  expressly  for  the  payment  of  the 
army,  as  directly  violate  the  principle  you  would  enforce? 
With  respect  to  the  taxes,  it  may  be  urged  that  the  contribu- 
tion is  merely  a  compliance  with  the  law;  but  can  any  of 
you,  my  Friends,  adduce  this  plea  whilst  you  not  only  refuse 
a  compliance  with  the  law,  in  the  case  of  Tithes,  but  enjoin 
that  disobedience  in  others,  unless  indeed  you  suppose  the 
mode  of  the  moral  and  religious  instruction  of  the  clergy  to 
be  more  criminal  than  war  ? 

"The  censure  and  the  laws  of  the  Society  against  slavery 
are  as  strict  and  decisive  as  against  war.  Now,  those  who 
use  the  produce  of  the  labour  of  slaves,  such  as  Tobacco, 
Rum,  Sugar,  Rice,  Indigo  and  Cotton,  are  more  intimately 
and  directly  the  promoters  of  the  slave  trade,  than  the 
vendor  of  arms  is  the  promoter  of  war,  because  the  con- 
sumption of  these  articles  is  the  very  ground  and  cause  of 
slavery. 

"  If  you  carry  speculative  principles  into  strict  and  rigid 
practice  you  will  abstain  not  only  from  the  consumption  of 
West  India  commodities,  but  from  all  commodities  which  are 
taxed,  especially  from  malt  and  wheat ;  for  you  may  be  well 
assured  that  every  morsel  of  bread  you  eat  and  every  cup 
of  beer  you  drink  has  furnished  the  resources  for  carrying 
on  this  war,  which  you  so  justly  censure.  If  you  should 
be  so  conscientious  as  to  abstain  from  all  these  enjoyments 
I  shall  have  no  reason  to  complain  of  any  partiality  in  apply- 
ing the  same  strict  construction  of  principle  against  me.  I 
shall  greatly  admire  the  efficacy  of  your  opinions,  whilst  I 
lament  that  the  practice  of  our  predecessors  is  not  followed ; 
and  if  I  should  be  disowned,  I  shall  not  think  that  I  have 
abandoned  the  Society,  but  that  the  Society  has  abandoned 
its  ancient,  tolerant  spirit  and  practice. 

(Signed)         "SAMUEL  GALTON,  junr." 


126     THE    LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

This  letter,  being  based  on  precedent  rather 
than  upon  religious  principles,  produced  little 
effect  upon  the  meeting;  so  that  on  the  loth  of 
the  8th  month  1796  the  monthly  meeting  issued 
the  following  minute  :— 

"  This  Meeting  in  order  for  the  clearing  of  our  Society 
from  an  imputation  of  a  practice  so  inconsistent  as  that  of 
fabricating  instruments  for  the  destruction  of  mankind,  thinks 
it  incumbent  on  them  to  declare  him  [Samuel  Galton,  jnr.]  not 
in  unity  with  Friends,  and  hereby  disowns  him  as  a  member 
of  our  religious  Society ;  nevertheless  we  sincerely  desire 
that  he  may  experience  such  a  conviction  of  the  rectitude 
of  our  principles,  and  our  practice  correspondent  therewith, 
as  may  induce  Friends  to  restore  him  again  into  unity  with 
them." 

Although  thus  disowned,  Samuel  Galton  con- 
tinued to  attend  the  meeting  till  his  death  ;  and 
notwithstanding  the  views  it  officially  held,  as  to 
the  trade  by  which  his  fortune  had  been  acquired, 
the  meeting  accepted  from  him  afterwards  a  dona- 
tion towards  the  purchase  of  the  new  burial-ground. 
That  the  views  of  Samuel  Galton  were  very  similar 
to  those  held  by  leading  Friends  at  an  earlier  date 
is  shown  by  a  document  sent  to  Sampson  Lloyd  in 

1757- 

That  physical  force  must  be  used  in  the  pre- 
servation of  peace  and  order  was  the  general  view 
of  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends  with  whom 
I  was  brought  up  ;  but  one  day  early  in  1858  when 
Livingstone,  then  about  forty  years  of  age,  was 
about  to  start,  on  what  I  believe  was  his  last  visit 
to  Africa,  that  great  philanthropist,  Joseph  Sturge, 
with  whom  I,  though  so  much  younger,  was  on 
very  friendly  terms,  asked  me  to  take  tea  with 
him.  I  remember  Richard  Cobden  was  one  of 
the  few  also  invited.  In  the  course  of  conversa- 
tion Livingstone  was  asked  whether  as  a  peaceable 


THE    GALTONS  127 

man  he  carried  weapons  of  defence,  and  he  said 
the  only  weapon  he  carried  was  his  gun.  Some  one 
present  queried  whether  he  ought  to  carry  a  gun, 
when  Livingstone  replied  that  it  was  easy  to  say 
so  in  a  drawing-room  at  Edgbaston,  but  to  go 
alone  among  the  natives  in  Africa  without  one  was 
a  very  different  thing.  When  the  natives  saw  that 
he  could  bring  down  a  bird  useful  for  food  by  his 
mysterious  weapon,  those  not  friendly  to  him  felt 
some  awe  ;  otherwise  what  would  happen  would  be 
this  :  one  would  come  near  and  touch  him  ;  another, 
seeing  no  harm  resulted,  would  take  something 
from  him  ;  others  would  then  do  the  same,  and 
he  would  soon  be  deprived  of  everything  of  any 
value. 

Joseph  Sturge,  who  at  the  time  was  an  ultra 
peace  man,  was  asked  what  he  would  do  if,  when 
walking  in  the  streets  of  Birmingham,  some  one 
robbed  him  of  his  watch.  Would  he  not  give  the 
man  in  charge  to  the  police  and  get  his  watch 
back  ?  He,  however,  would  not  commit  himself  to 
any  decision.  Further  interesting  conversation  took 
place,  and  the  whole  scene  was  so  engraven  on  my 
memory  that  I  still  retain  a  complete  picture  of 
how  they  looked,  and  where  they  stood  and  con- 
versed. This  was  twenty  years  after  Joseph  Sturge 
had  become  celebrated  by  putting  an  end,  in  1838, 
to  the  apprenticeship  system  of  slavery  in  the 
West  Indies,  accomplishing  the  abolition  of  slavery 
there — winning  its  extinction,  as  Lord  Brougham 
said,  "off  his  own  bat." 

Referring  to  the  subject  of  that  scourge  of  the 
human  race,  war,  very  much  might  be  written  upon 
it,  but  all  might  be  summed  up  in  the  apothegm 
that  "  Offensive  war  is  an  offence  against  God  and 
man  ;  and  that  defensive  war  very  often  admits  of 
no  defence." 


128     THE   LLOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 

War  between  Christian  nations  seems  very  far  as 
yet  from  becoming  a  thing  of  the  past ;  but  if  pro- 
fessing Christian  nations  should  decide  to  unite  in 
condemning  it,  and  entered  into  a  compact  to  settle 
every  dispute  by  referring  it  to  an  appointed  tribunal 
to  adjudicate  upon,  agreeing  that  any  recalcitrant 
nation  refusing  to  accept  the  decision  of  the  arbi- 
trators appointed  should  be  cut  off  from  all  inter- 
change of  commodities  with  every  other  Christian 
nation,  and  that  all  piratical  dealing  with  the 
offending  country,  or  with  any  inhabitant  of  it, 
should  be  punished  by  confiscation  of  property 
and  imprisonment  for  life  ;  why,  then,  there  would 
be  a  step  in  the  right  direction.  But  this  is,  of 
course,  the  counsel  of  perfection.  Who  knows  as 
to  the  future  ?  A  peaceable  Napoleon  of  mighty 
intellect  might  unexpectedly  arise,  able  to  convince 
civilised  mankind  that  there  would  be  plenty  of 
scope  left  for  their  energies — in  fact,  more  abun- 
dant scope  than  ever.  All  those  in  Europe  who 
cannot  dig  and  to  beg  would  be  ashamed,  would 
then  cease  to  devote  their  lives  to  the  profes- 
sional slaughter  of  their  fellow-men,  chiefly  fellow- 
Christians. 

A  few  years  ago  an  intelligent  Hindoo  visited 
Birmingham,  and  I  attended  two  of  his  addresses. 
He  begged  us  not  to  ask  him  or  his  co-religionists 
to  become  Christians,  for  it  would  be  abhorrent  to 
them  to  go  forth  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  like 
English  Christians,  to  kill  and  destroy,  with  a  Bible 
in  one  hand  and  a  weapon  of  destruction  in  the 
other.  This  reminds  me  of  George  Dawson  of 
Birmingham,  whose  lectures  I  attended  whenever 
I  could,  and  who  was,  I  should  think,  the  best 
lecturer  any  Lloyd,  or  indeed  any  Birmingham 
man,  ever  listened  to.  He  was  asked,  when  about 
to  lecture  upon  peace,  what  he  was  going  to  do 


THE   GALTONS  129 

with  the  soldiers  ?  Do  without  them,  he  replied  ; 
adding  that  St.  Paul,  when  he  preached  Christianity 
at  Ephesus,  did  not  mourn  over  the  shrine-makers 
being  thrown  out  of  work.  "I  open,"  he  said, 
"the  beautiful  scroll  of  prophecy,  and  find  that  in 
the  latter  days  the  sword  shall  be  turned  into  a 
ploughshare,  the  spear  into  a  pruning-hook  ;  mean- 
ing that  men  shall  then  study  war  no  more.  If 
peace  be  the  destined  result  of  religion,  how  can 
it  be  supposed  to  countenance  war,  which  opposes 
the  realisation  of  that  result?  " 

In  December  1905  the  present  Prime  Minister, 
in  an  electioneering  speech,  said  that  as  "  the  policy 
of  large  armaments  feeds  the  belief  that  force  is  the 
best,  if  not  the  only  solution  of  internal  differences, 
it  becomes  one  of  the  highest  tasks  of  the  statesman 
to  adjust  armaments  to  new  and  happier  condi- 
tions." This  is  a  commendable  sentiment  with 
which  we  may  all  agree  ;  but  where  are  the  states- 
men of  sufficient  ability  and  power  to  induce 
Europe  to  readjust  to  these  unew  and  happier 
conditions"? 

Although  Samuel  Galton,  junior,  the  friend  of 
the  third  Sampson  Lloyd,  and  a  leading  citizen  of 
Birmingham,  may  be  almost  forgotten,  it  is  but  a 
few  years  since  his  grandson,  Douglas  Galton, 
addressed  us  in  the  Council  House.  I  knew  him 
very  well,  and  was  present  on  the  occasion  when 
without  effort  his  clear  voice,  now  silenced  by 
death,  filled  the  Birmingham  Council  Chamber. 
He  surpassed  even  his  grandfather  in  literary  gifts, 
and  was  long  a  leading  member  of  the  British 
Association,  with  a  whole  string  of  initials  after 
his  name  signifying  the  different  learned  societies 
to  which  he  belonged.  Whilst  he  thus  became  dis- 
tinguished, Francis  Galton,  another  grandson  of 
Samuel  Galton,  junior,  published  Hereditary  Genius: 


1 30     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

its  Laws  and  Consequences^  giving"  very  many  in- 
stances of  genius  and  ability  derived,  as  he  con- 
tends in  the  book,  from  hereditary  sources.  He 
continued  his  investigations  in  another  book 
entitled  Human  Faculty.  His  researches  and 
untiring  diligence  in  collecting  data  seem  clearly 
to  show  that  he  at  any  rate  inherited  his  grand- 
father's thoroughness  ;  but  he  perhaps  owes  even 
more  to  his  mother's  ancestors,  her  father  being 
the  celebrated  Erasmus  Darwin,  and  the  great 
Charles  Darwin  thus  being  Dr.  Galton's  cousin. 
Most  of  his  works  may  be  said  to  have  followed 
Darwinian  lines  of  thought  and  research. 

Dr.  Galton,  at  the  commencement  of  Here- 
ditary Genius,  expresses  confidence  that  he  can 
show  that  a  man's  abilities  are  derived  by  inheri- 
tance, under  exactly  the  same  limitations  as  the 
whole  of  the  rest  of  the  organic  world,  so  that  by 
judicious  marriages  it  would  be  quite  practicable  to 
produce  a  highly  gifted  race  of  men.  He  appears 
to  have  derived  these  views  from  his  predecessors, 
who,  like  many  others  of  the  small  select  Society 
of  Friends,  certainly  held  decided  views  as  to 
suitable  marriages.  An  instance  in  illustration  of 
this  may  be  given.  The  house  and  grounds  of 
Samuel  Galton,  junior,  were  described  as  enchant- 
ing, and  the  occupants  also  were  attractive.  One 
day,  as  he  was  leaving  the  house,  he  met  a 
doctor  in  the  carriage  -  drive.  The  doctor  had 
come  to  court  the  daughter  of  the  house,  as  Mr. 
Galton  knew.  "Coming  to  see  one  of  the  ser- 
vants?" he  inquired  of  the  undesirable  suitor. 
The  hint  was  sufficient,  and  nothing  came  of  the 
courtship. 

Mr.  Arthur  Galton,  M.A.,  of  New  College, 
Oxford,  for  some  years  chaplain  to  the  Bishop 
of  Ripon,  but  now  a  vicar  in  Lincolnshire,  is  a 


THE   GALTONS  131 

great-grandson  of  the  second  Samuel  Galton,  and 
the  author  of  several  books.  His  first,  Urbana 
Scripta  :  Studies  of  Five  Living  Poets,  and  other 
Essays,  appeared  in  1885.  This  was  followed  in 
1887  by  a  work  entitled  The  Character  and  Times 
of  Thomas  Cromwell /*  in  1889  by  another  on  Rome 
and  Romanising,  and  in  1902  by  Our  Attitude 
towards  English  Roman  Catholics.  Mr.  Galton  for 
a  time  belonged  to  the  Roman  communion,  but 
he  now,  while  admiring  many  individuals  in  the 
Church,  speaks  most  unfavourably  of  the  system. 
His  studies  leading  him  to  look  into  the  past 
history  of  the  Jesuits,  he  contrasted  their  astute 
and  cynical  methods  very  pointedly  with  the 
spiritual  campaign  of  Fox  and  Penn.  In  Our 
Attitude  towards  English  Roman  Catholics  he 
writes  as  follows  : — 

"Toleration  for  all  Protestant  Dissenters  was  really  won 
by  the  Christian  methods,  the  passive  resistance,  the  un- 
conquerable goodness,  the  orderly  and  blameless  conduct  of 
the  Society  of  Friends. 

"The  Great  Battle,  if  we  may  venture  so  to  describe  it, 
of  George  Fox  and  his  disciples  lasted  about  forty  years. 
13,000  Friends  were  imprisoned  in  Great  Britain ;  322  of  them 
died  in  gaol;  many  were  sold  into  slavery,  and  transported; 
all  were  impoverished  by  fines,  by  damaged  properties,  and 
by  interrupted  business.  Nothing  could  overcome  their  in- 
vincible patience.  If  they  were  ejected  through  the  doors 
of  their  Meeting,  they  climbed  in  again  through  the  windows. 
If  the  walls  were  pulled  down,  they  meditated  among  the 
ruins. 

"Against  such  Christians  as  these  there  could  be  no 
effectual  coercion.  Their  high  principles,  and  their  faultless 
behaviour,  gained  the  cause  of  Toleration,  though  at  an  heroical 
expenditure  of  life  and  suffering.  No  bloodshed,  however, 
can  be  laid  to  their  charge ;  they  planned  no  invasions,  and 
plotted  no  assassinations.  They  never  slandered  their  foes 
or  their  allies.  They  had  no  political  ambitions,  no  lust 

1  Cornish  Brothers,  Birmingham. 


1 32     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

of  power.  They  were  soiled  by  no  intrigues.  Instead  of 
equivocating,  they  declined  all  oaths;  and  their  affirmations 
were  inviolable. 

"The  early  Friends  stood  for  that  which  was  honest, 
simple,  truthful,  honourable,  and  worthy  of  the  fullest  con- 
fidence in  every  sphere  of  human  intercourse ;  and,  as  a  body, 
the  English  Quakers  have  never  forfeited  that  reputation.  It 
still  remains  to  be  won  by  several  denominations  of  professing 
Christians." 

Mr.  Galton  goes  on  to  denounce  the  Jesuitical 
system  which,  in  the  interests  of  the  Papacy  and 
to  get  England  for  the  Pope,  was  ready  to  instigate 
the  Armada  and  the  Gunpowder  Plot. 

Another  book  by  Mr.  Arthur  Galton  has  just 
appeared,  entitled  The  Appeal  of  the  Anglican 
Church.  He  is  now  at  work  on  a  study  of  Church 
and  State  in  France. 

Samuel  Galton,  junior,  I  might  add,  died  in 
1832  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine.  To  the  last  he 
wore  a  powdered  wig  and  pigtail. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

CHARLES   LLOYD   OF   BINGLEY 

Thomas  Lloyd  in  Mexico — A  narrow  escape — The  Gentlemaris  Maga- 
zine on  Charles  Lloyd — A  busy  philanthropist — The  translation  of 
Homer  —  Charles  Lamb's  opinions — A  good  passage — Lamb  on 
Mr.  Lloyd's  Odyssey — And  on  Horace — "To  my  Steward" — Some 
anecdotes — A  kindly  father — Robert  Lloyd's  character-sketch  of  his 
father — Arises  Gazette  on  Mr.  Lloyd — A  determined  friend — Eliza- 
beth Fry— Mrs.  Charles  Lloyd— Welcome  to  Richard  T.  Cadbury. 

AMONG  the  Birmingham  representatives  of  the 
Lloyds  of  Dolobran  there  is  a  Charles  Lloyd 
occupying  a  large  place  in  local  history  whom  we 
have  seen  once  or  twice  in  connection  with  the 
Lunar  Society,  and  with  the  successful  manage- 
ment of  the  bank  in  moments  of  stress — Charles 
Lloyd  of  Bingley,  the  fifth  son  of  the  second 
Sampson  Lloyd  by  his  second  wife.  One  of  his 
grandsons,  the  late  Thomas  Lloyd  of  the  Priory, 
Warwick  (son  of  James  Lloyd,  Charles  Lloyd's 
second  son),  one  day  most  energetically  impressed 
upon  me,  with  the  ardour  characteristic  of  him  when 
he  was  most  deeply  moved,  that  his  grandfather, 
Charles  Lloyd,  was  far  away  the  greatest  man  the 
Lloyd  family  had  ever  produced. 

As  he  spoke  he  swayed  his  arms  so  energetically 
that  it  reminded  me  of  what  happened  to  him  once 
in  Mexico.  A  sentinel  having  behaved  rudely  to 
him,  he  went  instantly  to  complain  to  the  officer  of 
the  guard,  but  in  making  his  complaint,  his  manner 
was  so  vigorous  and  demonstrative  that  the  sentinel, 
who  already  was  suspicious,  came,  rather  naturally, 

133 


I34     THE    LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

to  the  conclusion  that  the  officer  himself  was  being 
threatened,  insulted,  or  endangered,  and  incon- 
tinently fired,  the  bullet  going  through  Mr.  Lloyd's 
shoulder  and  narrowly  missing  his  heart 

In  the  family  correspondence  Charles  Lloyd  of 
Bingley  appears  as  Charles  Lloyd  the  banker, 
being  thus  distinguished  from  his  eldest  son, 
Charles  Lloyd  the  poet.  His  principal  residence, 
"Bingley  House,  Warwickshire,"  as  it  was  then 
called,  afterwards  Bingley  Hall,  was  pulled  down 
in  1850  ;  it  is  on  its  site  that  the  annual  cattle-show 
is  held.  In  1849  Bingley  Hall  was  used  for  an 
Exposition  of  Arts  and  Manufactures,  and  I  well 
remember  seeing  the  Prince  Consort  on  his  way  to 
it.  The  idea  of  the  great  Exhibition  in  Hyde  Park 
in  1851  is  believed  to  have  originated  in  his  mind 
when  he  was  in  Bingley  Hall. 

Perhaps  the  best  way  at  this  date  to  bring  before 
the  reader  the  domestic  merits  and  intellectual 
activities  of  Charles  Lloyd  the  banker  is  to  print 
an  article  on  him  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  in 
March  1828  and  then  to  enlarge  a  little  upon  that 
document. 

"  In  the  pursuit  of  any  object  of  his  attention,  he  suffered 
no  other  to  interfere  with  or  distract  it,  and  he  possessed  the 
power  of  turning,  after  laborious  investigations,  with  sur- 
prising freshness  to  occupations  requiring  intellectual  exertions 
of  a  different  nature.  Few  men,  perhaps,  so  rich  in  resources, 
had  them  so  much  at  command.  He  embraced  with  prompt- 
ness, and  zealously  prosecuted,  whatever  appeared  to  his 
comprehensive  mind  conducive  to  the  benefit  of  his  species, 
or  the  happiness  of  those  connected  with  him.  He  was  an 
unwearied  and  able  member  of  that  body  of  philanthropists, 
to  whose  persevering  efforts  Great  Britain  is  indebted  for 
the  removal  of  that  foulest  stain  upon  her  annals — the  Slave 
Trade.  Nor  have  his  efforts  ever  slackened  to  aid  the  plans 
proposed  for  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  Negro 
population  of  our  dominions  in  the  West  Indies;  and  although 


:c 


CHARLES   LLOYD   OF   BINGLEY     135 

he  wished  for  the  trial  of  more  moderate  measures  than  those 
proposed  by  many  of  the  advocates  for  emancipation,  yet 
he  generally  concurred  in  the  principles  advocated  in  Parlia- 
ment by  his  nephew,  Mr.  Buxton  (afterwards  Sir  Thomas 
Fowell  Buxton  (1786-1845)),  and  he  always  took  the  lead 
on  public  occasions  when  this  subject  was  brought  forward 
in  Birmingham.  A  lover  of  peace  and  an  admirer  of  the 
constitution  of  his  country,  he  deprecated,  in  common  with 
all  the  friends  of  humanity,  the  unwise  measures  which  the 
ministry  of  Lord  North  in  1775  were  contemplating  for 
stifling  opposition  to  its  will  in  the  North  American  colonies. 
When  all  negotiation  seemed  fruitless,  and  the  overbearing 
conduct  of  the  Minister  had  determined  Dr.  Franklin  to 
depart;  when  the  horrors  of  civil  war  and  the  disunion  of 
the  Empire  seemed  inevitable,  Mr.  Lloyd  and  his  brother- 
in-law,  Dr.  David  Barclay,  did  not  consider  affairs  so  irre- 
trievable as  not  to  warrant  another  attempt  at  reconciliation. 
After  much  persuasion  and  entreaty,  Dr.  Franklin  yielded, 
and  he  told  his  friends  that,  though  he  considered  the  attempt 
hopeless,  yet  he  could  not  resist  the  desire  he  felt,  in  common 
with  them,  to  preserve  peace.  Some  minor  concessions  were 
made  by  the  Colonies  at  the  suggestions  of  these  gentlemen. 
Lord  North,  as  is  known,  was  inexorable ;  and  the  Envoy 
returned  from  the  conference,  the  last  which  a  representative 
from  that  country  had  with  an  English  cabinet,  until  she  sent 
her  plenipotentiary  to  treat  as  a  Sovereign  Republic.  .  .  . 

"What  minds  less  energetic  would  have  deemed  studies 
of  no  trifling  nature,  were  allotted  by  Charles  Lloyd  for  the 
occupation  of  those  hours  which  he  considered  set  apart  for 
relaxation.  His  acquaintance  with  ancient  and  modern  history 
was  accurate  and  extensive,  and  he  read  in  several  European 
languages  their  works  of  note.  Few  men  were  better  versed 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  or  more  complete  masters  of  their 
contents.  He  could  repeat  from  memory  several  entire  Books 
of  the  Old  Testament  and  the  greatest  part  of  the  New, 
and  was  well  versed  in  theological  learning.  But  next  to 
the  Scriptures,  the  classics  were  his  favourite  study.  When 
past  sixty  he  commenced  a  translation  of  Homer,  and  executed 
a  faithful  and  agreeable  version  of  the  whole  of  the  '  Odyssey/ 
and  great  part  of  the  '  Iliad.'  He  also  turned  his  attention 
to  Horace,  translating  several  of  the  '  Epistles '  into  easy 
verse ;  '  Virgil '  was  very  familiar  to  him ;  his  extraordinary 
memory  retained  to  the  close  of  his  life  the  whole  of  the 


136     THE   LLOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 

'  Georgics '  and  '  Bucolics/  The  agreeable  picture  of  farming 
so  beautifully  portrayed  in  those  inimitable  descriptions  of 
pastoral  life,  induced  him  to  take  one  of  his  estates  into  his 
own  hands,  and  for  thirty  years  he  farmed,  under  his  own 
inspection,  nearly  two  hundred  acres.  [This  was  at  Olton 
Green.]  One  day  in  the  week  was  at  least  devoted  to  this 
pursuit,  and  the  relaxation  which  this  interesting  employment 
yielded  him,  contributed,  in  conjunction  with  temperance  and 
cheerfulness,  to  keep  a  naturally  delicate  constitution  in  health 
and  vigour  to  a  late  period  of  his  life." 

Charles  Lloyd's  son  Charles,  the  poet,  to  whom 
we  come  later,  having  many  literary  men  among  his 
friends,  they  were  asked  to  criticise  Mr.  Lloyd's 
translations.  Among  others  Charles  Lamb,  who 
had  stayed  at  Bingley  in  1798,  saw  them  and  wrote 
his  opinions,  extracts  from  which  I  quote  from 
Mr.  Lucas's  book,  Charles  Lamb  and  the  Lloyds.1 
Thus  of  the  last  book  of  the  Iliad,  which  is  all  that 
Charles  Lloyd  printed,  Lamb  wrote  : — 

"  I  received  with  great  pleasure  the  mark  of  your  remem- 
brance which  you  were  pleased  to  send  me,  the  Translation 
from  Homer.  You  desire  my  opinion  of  it.  I  think  it  is 
plainer  and  more  to  the  purpose  than  Pope's,  though  it  may 
want  some  of  his  Splendour  and  some  of  his  Sound.  Yet 
I  do  not  remember  in  any  part  of  his  translation  a  series  of 
more  manly  versification  than  the  conference  of  Priam  with 
Hermes  in  your  translation  (Lines  499  to  530),  or  than  that 
part  of  the  reply  of  Achilles  to  Priam,  beginning  with  the 
fable  of  the  Two  Urns  (in  page  24);  or  than  the  Story  of 
Niobe  which  follows  a  little  after.  I  do  not  retain  enough 
of  my  Greek  (to  my  shame  I  say  it)  to  venture  at  an  opinion 
of  the  correctness  of  your  version.  What  I  seem  to  miss, 
and  what  certainly  everybody  misses  in  Pope,  is  a  certain 
savage-like  plainness  of  speaking  in  Achilles — a  sort  of 
indelicacy — the  heroes  in  Homer  are  not  half  civilized,  they 
utter  all  the  cruel,  all  the  selfish,  all  the  'mean  thoughts  even 
of  their  nature,  which  it  is  the  fashion  of  our  great  men  to 

1  Published  by  Messrs.  Smith,  Elder  &  Co.,  to  whom  and  to  Messrs. 
Macmillan  I  am  indebted  for  permission  to  quote  from  Lamb's  letters. 


CHARLES    LLOYD    OF    BINGLEY     137 

keep  in.  I  cannot,  in  lack  of  Greek,  point  to  any  one  place — 
but  I  remember  the  general  feature  as  I  read  him  at  school. 
But  your  principles  and  turn  of  mind  would,  I  have  no  doubt, 
lead  you  to  civilize  his  phrases,  and  sometimes  to  half  christen 
them." 

This  is  one  of  the  passages  which  Lamb  best 
liked,  the  conference  of  Priam  with  Hermes  : — 

"  The  old  man  answer'd — '  If  thou  truly  art 
Of  fierce  Achilles'  family  a  part, 
Tell  me,  oh  tell,  if  noble  Hector  lies 
Still  in  the  tent,  depriv'd  of  obsequies ; 
Or  has  Achilles  in  an  evil  hour, 
Thrown  him  to  dogs  in  piece-meal  to  devour  ? ' 
The  swift-wing'd  messenger  replied  and  said, 
'  Neither  the  vultures  nor  the  dogs  have  made 
A  prey  of  Hector's  corpse,  which  lies  yet  sound 
Within  the  tent,  neglected  on  the  ground. 
Twelve  mornings  now  are  past  since  he  was  slain, 
But  still  the  skin  its  freshness  doth  retain  ; 
The  worms,  which  make  of  warriors  dead  a  prey, 
From  this  dead  body  have  been  kept  away ; 
Our  chief,  when  morning  brightens  up  the  skies, 
The  noble  Hector  to  his  chariot  ties, 
And  drags  him  round  his  dear  Patroclus'  tomb ; 
But  still  the  dead  retains  his  youthful  bloom : 
The  blood  all  washed  away,  no  stains  appear, 
The  numerous  wounds  are  clos'd,  the  skin  is  clear ; 
Thus  round  thy  son,  the  care  of  heaven  is  spread, 
It  loved  him  living,  and  it  guards  him  dead.' 
These  words  reviv'd  the  aged  king,  who  said, 
'  'Tis  right  that  sacrifice  and  gifts  be  paid 
To  the  immortals,  and  the  pious  mind 
Of  noble  Hector  ever  was  inclin'd 
To  honour  them,  while  here  he  drew  his  breath  : 
And  hence  have  they  rernember'd  him  in  death. 
Accept  for  all  the  kindness  thou  hast  shown, 
This  golden  cup,  and  keep  it  as  thine  own, 
And  if  it  please  thee,  with  the  gods'  consent, 
Conduct  me  safely  to  Achilles'  tent.' " 

The  letter  ends  : — 

" 1  wish  you  Joy  of  an  Amusement  which  I  somehow  seem 
to  have  done  with.     Excepting  some  Things  for  Children,  I 


138     THE    LLOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 

have  scarce  chimed  ten  couplets  in  the  last  as  many  years. 
Be  pleased  to  give  my  most  kind  remembrances  to  Mrs.  Lloyd ; 
and  please  to  tell  Robert  that  my  Sister  is  getting  well,  and 
I  hope  will  soon  be  able  to  take  pleasure  in  his  affectionate 
Epistle.  My  Love  also  to  Charles,  when  you  write." 

In  1809  Mr.  Lloyd  sent  Lamb,  in  MS.,  the  first 
two  books  of  the  Odyssey.  His  critic  writes  :— 

"  I  think  of  the  two,  I  rather  prefer  the  Book  of  the  Iliad 
which  you  sent  me,  for  the  sound  of  the  verse;  but  the 
difference  of  subject  almost  involuntarily  modifies  verse. 
I  find  Cowper  is  a  favourite  with  nobody.  His  injudicious 
use  of  the  stately  slow  Miltonic  verse  in  a  subject  so  very 
different  has  given  a  distaste.  Nothing  can  be  more  unlike 
to  my  fancy  than  Homer  and  Milton.  Homer  is  perfect 
prattle,  tho'  exquisite  prattle,  compared  to  the  deep  oracular 
voice  of  Milton.  In  Milton  you  love  to  stop,  and  saturate 
your  mind  with  every  great  image  or  sentiment;  in  Homer 
you  want  to  go  on,  to  have  more  of  his  agreeable  narrative. 
Cowper  delays  you  as  much,  walking  over  a  Bowling  Green, 
as  the  other  does,  travelling  over  steep  Alpine  heights,  where 
the  labour  enters  into  and  makes  a  part  of  the  pleasure. 
From  what  I  have  seen,  I  would  certainly  be  glad  to  hear 
that  you  continued  your  employment  quite  through  the  Poem  : 
that  is,  for  an  agreeable  and  honourable  recreation  to  your- 
self; though  I  should  scarce  think  that  (Pope  having  got  the 
ground)  a  translation  in  Pope's  Couplet  versification  would 
ever  supersede  his  to  the  public,  however  faithfuller  or  in 
some  respects  better.  Pitt's  Virgil  is  not  much  read,  I 
believe,  though  nearer  to  the  Original  than  Dryden's.  Perhaps 
it  is,  that  people  do  not  like  two  Homers  or  Virgils — there 
is  a  sort  of  confusion  in  it  to  an  English  reader,  who  has  not  a 
centre  of  reference  in  the  Original:  when  Tate  and  Brady's 
Psalms  came  out  in  our  Churches,  many  pious  people  would 
not  substitute  them  in  the  room  of  David's,  as  they  call'd 
Sternhold  and  Hopkins's.  But  if  you  write  for  a  relaxation  from 
other  sort  of  occupations  I  can  only  congratulate  you,  Sir, 
on  the  noble  choice,  as  it  seems  to  me,  which  you  have  made, 
and  express  my  wonder  at  the  facility  which  you  suddenly 
have  arrived  at,  if  (as  I  suspect)  these  are  indeed  the  first 
specimens  of  this  sort  which  you  have  produced.  But  I 
cannot  help  thinking  that  you  betray  a  more  practiced  gait 


CHARLES   LLOYD   OF   BINGLEY     139 

than  a  late  beginner  could  so  soon  acquire.  Perhaps  you  have 
only  resumed,  what  you  had  formerly  laid  aside  as  interrupting 
more  necessary  avocations. 

"  I  need  not  add  how  happy  I  shall  be  to  see  at  any  time 
what  you  may  please  to  send  me.  In  particular,  I  should  be 
glad  to  see  that  you  had  taken  up  Horace,  which  I  think  you 
enter  into  as  much  as  any  man  that  was  not  born  in  his  days, 
and  in  the  Via  Longa  or  Flaminia,  or  near  the  Forum." 

Mr.  Lloyd,  taking  the  hint,  next  attacked  Horace 
and  sent  Lamb  the  result.  The  reply  came  from 
the  India  House  on  September  8,  1812  : — 

"DEAR  SIR, — I  return  you  thanks  for  your  little  Book. 
I  am  no  great  Latinist,  but  you  appear  to  me  to  have  very 
happily  caught  the  Horatian  manner.  Some  of  them  I  had 
seen  before.  What  gave  me  most  satisfaction  has  been  the 
1 4th  Epistle  (its  easy  and  Gentleman-like  beginning,  particu- 
larly), and  perhaps  next  to  that,  the  Epistle  to  Augustus, 
which  reads  well  even  after  Pope's  delightful  Imitation  of 
it.  What  I  think  the  least  finish'd  is  the  i8th  Epistle.  It 
is  a  metre  which  never  gave  me  much  pleasure.1  I  like  your 
eight  syllable  verses  very  much.  They  suit  the  Epistolary 
style  quite  as  well  as  the  ten.  I  am  only  sorry  not  to  find 
the  Satires  in  the  same  volume.  I  hope  we  may  expect  them. 
I  proceed  to  find  some  few  oversights,  if  you  will  indulge 
me,  or  what  seem  so  to  me,  for  I  have  neglected  my  Latin 
(and  quite  lost  my  Greek)  since  I  left  construing  it  at  School. 
I  will  take  them  as  I  find  them  mark'd  in  order." 

Here  may  be  quoted  the  Epistle  which  best 
pleased  the  critic — the  Fourteenth  : — 

TO   MY   STEWARD 

/'Steward  of  my  woods  and  self-restoring  farm, 
(Despised  by  thee)  which  formerly  was  warm 
With  five  bright  fires — a  place  of  some  renown, 
Which  sent  five  Senators  to  Varia's  town  j 

1  This  is  the  metre  : — 

"  If  rightly  I  know  thee,  thou  wilt  not  offend, 
My  Lollius,  by  flattery,  the  ears  of  a  friend." 


140     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

Let  us  contend,  who  is  the  most  inclined, 

I  to  pluck  up  the  thorns  which  choak  the  mind, 

Or  thou  the  thorns  which  my  estate  molest ; 

And  whether  Horace  or  his  farm  thrive  best. 

Lamia  has  lost  his  brother,  and  my  grief 

For  him  who  mourns,  despairing  of  relief, 

Detains  me  here,  tho'  there  my  heart  and  soul 

Bear  me  impatient  of  undue  controul. 

I  call  the  country,  thou  the  town-man  blest ; 

He  hates  his  own,  who  others'  lots  likes  best : 

The  place  is  blamed  unjustly,  for  we  find 

That  change  of  place  can  never  change  the  mind ; 

At  Rome  by  others  hurried  here  and  there, 

Thou  for  the  country  didst  prefer  thy  prayer ; 

My  steward  now,  thy  fickle  heart  resorts 

Again  to  Rome,  its  bagnios,  and  its  sports ; 

While  I,  consistent  with  myself,  pursue 

One  steady  plan,  and  this  thou  know'st  is  true ; 

And  when  by  hateful  business  forced  to  move 

To  Rome,  I  leave  with  grief  the  farm  I  love : 

Our  inclinations  differ — hence  we  see 

That  I  and  thou  must  ever  disagree ; 

For  what  thou  calPst  a  wild  deserted  waste, 

Exactly  suits  my  own  and  others'  taste. 

Who  hate  what  thou  applaudest ; — filthy  stews 

And  greasy  taverns,  suit  thy  low  life  views 

Of  city  happiness. — A  rural  scene, 

Where  spices  grow,  not  grapes,  thou  thinkest  mean ; 

No  tavern  near  which  can  its  wine  supply ; 

No  dancing  songsters  to  allure  the  eye 

And  charm  the  ear ;  yet,  if  thy  tale  be  true, 

Thou  dost  not  fail  thy  business  to  pursue ; 

To  plough  my  fallows  overrun  with  weeds, 

And  strip  the  leaves  on  which  my  bullock  feeds ; 

To  watch  the  river  when  the  showers  descend, 

And  currents  rippling  thro'  the  fields  to  tend. 

Come  now  ;  I'll  tell  thee  why  we  disagree  \ 

Fine  clothes  and  hair  perfumed  delighted  me. 

Rapacious  Cynara  I  once  could  please 

Without  a  fee,  with  pleasantry  and  ease ; 

In  rich  Falernian  wine  I  took  delight, 

And  often  sat  till  very  late  at  night ; 

Now  I  eat  little  and  but  little  drink, 

I  sleep  delighted  near  the  river's  brink, 

On  the  soft  grass. — I  can't  recall  the  past, 

But  I  should  blush,  did  youthful  follies  last. 


CHARLES   LLOYD   OF   BINGLEY     141 

Safe  in  the  country,  there  no  envious  spy 

Views  my  possessions  with  a  jaundiced  eye ; 

No  biting  slander  and  no  secret  hate 

Approach  the  confines  of  my  small  estate ; 

The  clods  and  stones  I  carry  from  my  ground, 

My  neighbours  see  me,  and  the  smile  goes  round, 

To  sit  with  slaves  is  thy  delight  and  pride, 

At  a  large  city  table  well  supplied ; 

With  them  thou  wishest  thy  abode  to  fix, 

And  in  their  meals  and  merriment  to  mix ; 

While  my  more  active  footboy  longs  to  change 

Places  with  thee,  and  o'er  my  fields  to  range ; 

The  flocks,  the  garden,  and  the  wood  heap'd  fire, 

Despised  by  thee,  excite  his  fond  desire ; 

The  lazy  ox,  the  horse's  trappings  saw 

With  longing  eye — the  horse  the  plough  would  draw ; 

But  as  in  different  stations  they  excel, 

Each  cheerfully  should  act  his  own  part  well." 

The  letter  concluded  : — 

"  Let  me  only  add  that  I  hope  you  will  continue  an 
employment  which  must  have  been  so  delightful  to  you. 
That  it  may  have  the  power  of  stealing  you  occasionally  from 
some  sad  thoughts  is  my  fervent  wish  and  hope.  Pray,  Dear 
Sir,  give  my  kindest  remembrances  to  Mrs.  Lloyd,  and  to 
Plumstead — I  am  afraid  I  can  add  no  more  who  are  likely 
to  remember  me.  Charles  and  I  sometimes  correspond.  He 
is  a  letter  in  my  debt." 

In  her  Memories  of  Old  Friends,  Caroline  Fox, 
of  Penjerrick,  Falmouth  (whom  I  knew  very  well, 
as  her  father's  younger  brother,  Alfred  Fox,  became 
my  uncle,  by  marrying  my  aunt,  Sarah  Lloyd  of 
"  Farm  "),  writes,  on  the  23rd  of  January  1840,  that 
Derwent  Coleridge  gave  them  some  anecdotes  at 
breakfast  of  "  the  mild  old  (Quaker)  banker  Lloyd  " 
and  his  family.  In  reply  to  the  question  why  he  had 
never  translated  the  whole  Iliad^  he  said,  "  Why,  I 
have  sometimes  thought  of  the  work,  but  I  feared  the 
martial  spirit."  One  day  he  sent  his  son  to  reprove 
a  shopkeeper  for  sending  him  a  bad  article.  On 


142     THE    LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

his  return  home  he  was  asked,  "  Hast  thou  been  to 
the  shop  to  reprove  the  dealer?"  " Yes,  father,  I 
went  to  the  shop,  but  a  maiden  was  serving,  and  she 
was  so  young1  and  pretty  that  I  could  not  rebuke 
her."  To  this  may  be  added  another  anecdote.  A 
mother  asking  one  of  the  banking  Lloyds  what  she 
should  name  her  son,  he  said,  "  Name  him  Maker- 
shalal-hashbaz  [Haste  to  the  spoil  :  quickly  take 
the  prey],  and  I  will  give  you  ^100  when  he  is 
twenty-one  if  you  come  to  the  bank  for  it."  It  is 
told  that  she  did  come  to  the  bank  and  claimed 
the  fulfilment  of  the  promise,  and  was  paid. 

In  his  private  relations  Charles  Lloyd  is  revealed 
to  us  as  a  man  of  gentle  manners  and  warm  sym- 
pathies, although  for  the  taste  of  his  more  rebellious 
sons  he  may  perhaps  have  been  a  little  too  much 
inclined  to  a  patriarchal  control.  A  fondness  for 
children — characteristic  of  the  Lloyds — endeared 
him  to  the  young  among  his  relatives.  An 
illustration  of  his  parental  sympathy  and  of  his 
attitude  towards  the  problems  of  life  is  afforded 
by  a  letter  addressed  to  his  sons  Robert,  Thomas, 
and  Plumstead,  during  their  school  days  : — 

"  I  have  sent  you  [he  writes]  some  paper,  a  spade,  pencils, 
and  painting  brushes,  and  a  '  Virgil '  and  '  Selecta/  &c.,  all 
which  you  will,  I  hope,  make  a  good  use  of.  ...  I  observe 
your  request  for  fishing  rods,  but  I  do  not  wish  you  to  be 
too  frequent  in  using  them,  for  it  is  cruel  to  the  poor  worms, 
who  are  put  to  great  torture.  I  have  not  sent  any  rods, 
thinking  if  your  Master  approves  of  your  fishing  now  and 
then  that  long  Osier  twigs  will  do  as  well  as  any  rods.  As 
you  have  already  plenty  of  books,  I  would  have  you  be 
diligent  in  reading  them,  for  a  few  books  well  chosen  and 
frequently  read  are  much  better  than  a  great  number  ill- 
chosen.  .  .  .  Though  you  are  very  young,  yet  you  are  old 
enough  to  know  and  consider  that  life  is  very  uncertain,  and 
the  Youth  as  well  as  the  Old  are  often  summoned  to  the 
Silent  Grave;  but  these  reflections,  my  dear  boys,  have  no 


CHARLES   LLOYD   OF    BINGLEY     143 

occasion  to  make  you  sorrowful,  for  if  we  do  what  is  right, 
Death  can  never  come  at  an  unsuitable  time." 

His  son  Robert,  when  twenty-three,  wrote  a 
letter  which  is  quoted  by  Lamb  in  a  letter  to 
Southey.  It  is  dated  March  1803.  "  Robert 
Lloyd,"  he  says,  "  has  written  me  a  masterly 
letter  containing  a  character  of  his  father.  See 
how  different  from  Charles  he  views  the  old  man  ? 
(Literatim)  '  My  father  smokes,  repeats  Homer 
in  Greek,  and  Virgil,  and  is  learning,  when  from 
business,  with  all  the  vigour  of  a  young  man, 
Italian.  He  is,  really,  a  wonderful  man.  He 
mixes  public  and  private  business,  the  intricacies 
of  disordering  life,  with  his  religion  and  devotion. 
No  one  more  rationally  enjoys  the  romantic  scenes 
of  Nature,  and  the  chit-chat  and  little  vagaries 
of  his  children  ;  and,  though  surrounded  with  an 
ocean  of  affairs,  the  very  neatness  of  his  most 
obscure  cupboard  in  the  house  passes  not  un- 
noticed. I  never  knew  any  one  view  with  such 
clearness,  nor  so  well  satisfied  with  things  as 
they  are,  and  make  much  allowance  for  things 
which  must  appear  Syriac  to  him.'  By  the  last 
[says  Lamb]  he  means  the  '  Lloydisms '  of  the 
younger  branches." 

The  following  notice  of  Charles  Lloyd's  death 
appeared  in  Aris's  Gazette  of  January  21,  1828  : — 

"On  Wednesday  last,  in  the  8oth  year  of  his  age, 
Charles  Lloyd,  Esq.,  Banker  of  this  town,  a  member  of  the 
Society  of  Friends.  His  long  and  active  life  was  marked 
by  great  intelligence  in  business,  unaffected  piety,  and  zealous 
exertions  to  promote  the  welfare  of  his  fellow  creatures. 
How  often  has  his  simple  but  impressive  eloquence  been 
heard  amongst  us,  pleading  the  cause  of  the  oppressed 
African,  advocating  the  diffusion  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and 
promoting  the  education  of  the  people  !  For  the  prosperity 
of  the  General  Hospital  he  always  manifested  deep  interest, 
and  aided  it  by  his  personal  exertions.  As  Treasurer,  he 


i44     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

kept  the  accounts  with  his  own  hand  during  a  period  of  thirty 
years.  In  public  subscriptions  he  set  a  generous  example, 
and  in  private  charity  he  was  most  bountiful  and  kind. 
Cheerfulness  and  piety  were  mingled  in  his  character  with 
a  simplicity  truly  patriarchal.  Strict  and  conscientious  in 
his  own  conduct,  he  manifested  a  Christian  and  benevolent 
spirit  in  regard  to  others ;  and  whilst  he  endeavoured  to  act 
up  to  the  principles  of  the  Society  in  which  he  was  educated, 
he  felt  unbounded  love  and  charity,  and  prayed  for  the 
prosperity  of  all  denominations  of  Christians.  To  a  very 
numerous  family  he  was  ever  a  most  affectionate  father, 
counsellor  and  friend, — setting  them  the  example  of  a  religious 
life  and  conversation ;  and  reaping,  during  seasons  of  great 
trial  and  affliction,  the  divine  consolations  of  his  Lord  and 
Master.  Hopeful  unto  the  end,  he  showed  his  mournful 
friends  with  what  peace  a  Christian  can  die ! " 

A  beautiful  marble  bust  of  Charles  Lloyd  was 
placed  in  the  General  Hospital  as  a  memorial  of 
his  services  to  that  Institution.  It  bears  this 
inscription  : — 

CAROLUS   LLOYD 

SENEX  PROBITATE  PRUDENTIA 

BENIGNITATE  VENERABILIS 

MlGRAVIT    EX    HAC    VlTA 

ADMDCCCXXVII 

ANNOS    LXXIX    NATUS 

To  the  end  of  his  life  Charles  Lloyd  was  in 
the  habit  of  regularly  attending  the  meetings  of 
Friends.  His  voice  was  not  infrequently  heard  in 
brief  and  pointed  exhortation,  and  for  many  years 
before  his  death  he  was  one  of  the  recorded 
ministers  of  the  Society.  A  volume  of  his  ad- 
dresses, as  they  were  taken  down  by  one  of  his 
interested  relatives,  is  preserved  in  manuscript  by 
a  member  of  his  family.  He  assisted  in  the  for- 
mation of  the  Bible  Society,  and  with  his  nephew 


CHARLES   LLOYD    OF    BINGLEY     145 

Samuel  (grandfather  of  the  writer),  also  assisted 
in  founding  in  Birmingham  the  Society's  first  pro- 
vincial auxiliary. 

Mr.  Lloyd,  although  a  strict  Friend,  was  yet 
sufficiently  broad-minded  and  imaginative  to  allow 
his  son  Charles  to  become  a  pupil  of  Cole- 
ridge. This  was  in  1791,  after  Coleridge  had 
visited  Birmingham  to  obtain  subscriptions  to  the 
Watchman. 

The  celebrated  Elizabeth  Fry  was  one  of  the 
many  visitors  at  Charles  Lloyd's  house,  and  felt 
herself  sufficiently  related  to  call  him  cousin.  She 
greatly  valued  his  friendship,  and  found,  like  his 
other  congenial  acquaintances,  that  his  high  cul- 
ture and  ardent  piety  formed  a  combination  which 
made  converse  with  him  a  pleasure  to  the  mind 
and  a  feast  to  the  heart.  Twelve  years  after  his 
death  she  was  a  guest  again  at  Bingley  House, 
and  during  this  visit  she  came  to  "Farm"  and  I 
saw  her  several  times. 

Mary  Farmer,  his  wife,  proved  herself  a  partner 
worthy  of  such  a  husband,  and  won  love  and 
veneration  from  those  of  her  children  whom  she 
had  the  most  reason  to  chide.  "The  kindest  and 
tenderest  mother,"  wrote  her  eldest  son  Charles, 
after  her  death.  "She  was  humble,"  he  added, 
"even  to  profound  self-abasedness  :  disinterested, 
even  to  nobility  of  soul  :  and  self-denying,  and 
devout,  to  a  degree  which  those  who  give  the 
preference  to  the  active  over  the  passive  virtues 
would  call  ascetic  and  mystical  :  but  with  all  this 
rigidity  and  austerity,  as  respected  herself,  she 
was  of  all  human  beings  (and  in  many  striking 
instances  she  evinced  this),  the  most  disposed  to 
extenuate  the  failings  of  the  inconsistent,  to  check 
the  despair  of  the  culpable,  and  to  wipe  the  tear 
of  shame  and  penitence  from  the  cheek  of  the 

K 


146     THE   LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

victim  to  '  the  sin  which  most  easily  besetteth 
him.'  This,  as  many  can  testify,  is  not  panegyric, 
but  plain  and  unvarnished  truth." 

Mrs.  Lloyd  shared  with  her  husband  and  her 
sons  Charles  and  Robert  the  privilege  of  the 
friendship  of  Charles  Lamb.  Writing  to  Robert 
from  London  on  March  i,  1800,  she  says:  "If 
C.  Lamb  pays  his  respects  I  wish  it  might  be 
some  morning  at  breakfast.  ...  I  hardly  think 
we  shall  have  one  vacant  day."  She  had  taken 
her  second  daughter,  Olivia,  to  London  with  her. 
Lamb  writes  a  fortnight  later  to  Thomas  Manning  : 
"Tell  Charles  I  have  seen  his  Mamma,  and  have 
almost  fallen  in  love  with  her,  since  I  mayn't  with 
Olivia.  She  is  so  fine  and  graceful,  a  complete 
matron-lady-quaker.  She  has  given  me  two  little 
books.  Olivia  grows  a  charming  girl — full  of 
feeling,  and  thinner  than  she  was  ;  but  I  have  not 
time  to  fall  in  love."  l 

Mrs.  Charles  Lloyd  died  on  December  9,  1821, 
her  husband  surviving  her  seven  years. 

Before  leaving  the  Bingley  House  banker,  I 
might  recall  the  interesting  fact  that  Richard  T. 
Cadbury,  father  of  John  Cadbury,  the  founder  of 
the  great  Bournville  business,  when  he  came  to 
Birmingham  from  Exeter  in  1794,  dined,  on  the 
first  Sunday  after  his  arrival,  with  Charles  Lloyd  at 
Edgbaston  Street  (it  was  just  before  the  move  to 
Bingley),  and  on  the  second  Sunday  with  Sampson 
Lloyd.  He  was  then  twenty-six  :  he  lived  to  be 
ninety-two.  It  was  a  good  day  for  Birmingham 
when  Richard  Cadbury  settled  there,  and  I  am  glad 
to  think  that  he  was  so  warmly  welcomed  by  Charles 
and  Sampson  Lloyd. 

1  She  married  Paul  Moon  James,  of  Wake  Green,  a  banker  in  Birming- 
ham,  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  Worcestershire  and  in  1834  High  Bailiff 
of  Birmingham.  Mr.  James  died  on  July  13,  1854,  and  his  wife  in  the 
following  December,  in  her  seventy-second  year. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

CHARLES   LLOYD    THE   POET 

An  unwilling  banker — Advice  to  a  young  brother — S.  T.  Coleridge 
appears  in  Birmingham — Philosopher  and  neophyte — Bristol  and 
Nether  Stowey — First  mental  illness — Charles  Lloyd  visits  Charles 
Lamb — A  falling  out  of  friends — Thomas  Manning — Lloyd  marries 
— At  Old  Brathay — De  Quincey's  testimony — Shelley — Troublous 
years — London  and  Macready — Lloyd  as  a  poet — Lloyd's  children — 
"Lile  Owey" — Hartley  Coleridge's  poem 

CHARLES,  the  eldest  son  of  Charles  Lloyd  of 
Bingley,  born  in  1775,  became  known  as  Charles 
Lloyd  the  poet.  He  was,  to  quote  Mr.  Lucas's 
truthful  summing-  up  of  his  character  in  his  book, 
Charles  Lamb  and  the  Lloyds,  "a  contemplative, 
self-conscious,  sensitive  youth,  afflicted  with  nervous 
weakness.  He  had  much  of  the  Lake  Poets'  de- 
light in  scenery  ;  he  was  a  profoundly  interested 
inquirer  into  ethical  questions  ;  he  would  examine 
an  emotion  with  almost  more  assiduity  than  his 
master  Rousseau  himself ;  and  quite  early  he 
ceased  to  subscribe  to  the  teaching  of  Friends." 
Quaker  families,  even  in  those  days,  now  and  then 
produced  such  exotics. 

The  worthy  banker,  who  was  as  earnest  in  his 
business  as  he  was  enthusiastic  in  his  studies, 
cherished  the  hope  that  his  eldest  son,  the  bearer 
of  his  name,  would  succeed  him  in  the  management 
of  the  bank.  Charles*'  was  accordingly  placed  in 
the  bank  on  leaving  school  early  in  the  seventeen 
nineties,  where  he  seems  for  a  time  conscientiously 

to  have  endeavoured  to  gratify  his  father's  wish  ; 

147 


148     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

but  daily  office-work  was  intolerable  drudgery,  and 
in  1794  his  health  gave  way.  His  enforced  leisure 
appears  to  have  been  accompanied  with  reflections 
which  convinced  him  that  whatever  success  might 
await  him  it  did  not  lie  in  the  realm  of  business. 
To  this  conclusion  his  father,  with  a  grief  which 
was  often  expressed,  seems  at  last  to  have  agreed. 
On  his  recovery,  the  youth  therefore  went  to 
Edinburgh  with  some  idea  of  studying  medicine. 
But  in  1795  he  was  living  with  Wordsworth's  friend, 
Thomas  Wilkinson  (Wordsworth's  "  Wilkinson  of 
the  spade"),  at  Yanwath.  There  he  produced  his 
first  volume  of  poems.  Wilkinson  wrote  of  him, 
"  He  has  a  poetical  turn,  and  writes  most  beautiful 


verse." 


The  serious  side  of  his  character  in  early  life, 
as  well  as  a  lack  of  humour,  is  seen  in  his  letters 
to  his  brother  Robert,  three  years  his  junior.  He 
writes  in  1794,  when  he  was  but  nineteen  :  "  Do  not 
give  way  to  useless  speculation.  I  advise  you 
particularly  to  read  Rousseau's  Emilius^  in  French 
if  you  can.  .  .  .  Do  not  attend  to  the  intricacies 
of  sectarian  peculiarities  ;  be  a  good  man,  retain 
a  pure  heart,  but  oh  !  avoid  alike  the  Quaker 
and  the  Libertine,  the  Methodist  and  the  Atheist." 
Robert  at  that  time  was  an  apprentice  to  a  draper 
at  Saffron  Walden. 

The  turning-point  in  the  literary  life  of  the 
young  poet  seems  to  have  been  the  visit  of  Samuel 
Taylor  Coleridge  to  Birmingham  in  1796,  full  of 
enthusiasm  and  eloquence.  When  Coleridge  came 
again,  a  few  months  later,  the  youth  passed  com- 
pletely under  his  influence.  "  He  desired,"  as 
Mr.  Lucas  tells  us,  "  with  all  his  soul  to  live  the 
exalted  existence  of  a  philosopher  and  poet ;  and 
already  having  written  a  number  of  sonnets  of 
a  meditative  and  melancholy  cast,  forswore  the 


CHARLES   LLOYD   THE    POET      149 

paternal  creed,  and  passed  through  a  stage  of 
acute  Rousseauism  ;  he  was  perhaps  entitled  to  his 
dream.  And  to  Coleridge,  who  was  but  two  years 
his  senior,  the  young  Birmingham  visionary  looked 
to  help  him  to  the  fulfilment  of  his  dream." 

Coleridge  was  equally  in  love  with  his  new- 
found disciple,  and  a  proposal  from  Charles  to  live 
with  him  as  his  pupil  and  friend  proved  to  be  as 
agreeable  as  it  was  flattering.  Mr.  Lloyd  was 
willing,  and  the  experiment  began.  Coleridge 
responded  to  his  young  admirer's  advances  in  a 
poem  describing  the  delights  of  their  projected 
companionship — 

"  Ah  !  dearest  youth  !  it  were  a  lot  divine 
To  cheat  our  noons  in  moralising  mood, 
While  west-winds  fann'd  our  temples  toil-bedew'd." 

And  Lloyd,  in  a  poem  which  appears  to  have  been 
written  at  the  same  period,  and  which  was  after- 
wards published  in  the  joint  volume  by  himself, 
Coleridge,  and  Lamb  (1797),  exclaimed— 

"  My  Coleridge  !  take  the  wanderer  to  thy  breast." 

While  staying  with  the  Lloyds  in  September 
1796  Coleridge  received  the  announcement  that 
on  September  19  a  son,  afterwards  famous  as 
Hartley  Coleridge,  had  been  born  to  him.  He 
hastened  home.  Charles  Lloyd  accompanied  him, 
and  became  for  a  time  a  member  of  the  family, 
first  at  Bristol  and  then  at  Nether  Stowey. 

Coleridge's  gifted  daughter,  Sara,  wrote  after- 
wards :  "  My  mother  has  often  told  me  how  amiable 
Mr.  Lloyd  was  as  a  youth  ;  how  kind  to  her  little 
Hartley ;  how  well  content  with  cottage  accom- 
modation ;  how  painfully  sensitive  in  all  that 
related  to  the  affections.1' 


150     THE   LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

The  intimacy  between  the  two  young  poets 
ripened  fast.  On  September  24  Coleridge  wrote 
to  his  friend  Thomas  Poole  :  "  Charles  Lloyd  wins 
upon  me  hourly  ;  his  heart  is  uncommonly  pure, 
his  affections  delicate,  and  his  benevolence  en- 
livened but  not  sicklied  by  sensibility.  He  is 
assuredly  a  man  of  great  genius  ;  but  it  must  be 
tete-a-tete  to  one  whom  he  loves  and  esteems  that 
his  colloquial  powers  open."  With  this  letter 
Coleridge  enclosed  two  sonnets  written  at  Bir- 
mingham by  Lloyd,  who  in  them  credited  his  new 
mentor  with  having  convinced  him  of  the  truth  of 
Christianity,  "for  he  had  been,  if  not  a  deist,  yet 
quite  a  sceptic." 

The  elder  Lloyd  seems  to  have  had  no  mis- 
givings as  to  the  influence  of  Coleridge  upon  his 
son.  In  announcing  to  Robert  Charles's  departure, 
he  writes  of  Coleridge  as  "  a  very  sensible  religious 
man  and  an  extraordinary  poet,  who  was  educated 
for  a  clergyman,  but  for  conscience'  sake  declined 
that  office.  Thou  mayst, "  he  adds,  "order  Cole- 
ridge's poems  of  the  bookseller  at  S.  Walden." 

Coleridge  meanwhile,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Lloyd, 
dated  October  15,  1796,  wrote:  "Your  son  and  I 
are  happy  in  our  connection — our  opinions  and 
feelings  are  as  nearly  alike  as  we  can  expect :  and 
I  rely  upon  the  goodness  of  the  All-good  that  we 
shall  proceed  to  make  each  other  better  and  wiser. 
Charles  Lloyd  is  greatly  averse  from  the  common 
run  of  society — and  so  am  I — but  in  a  city  I  could 
scarcely  avoid  it.  And  this,  too,  has  aided  my 
decision  in  favour  of  my  rustic  scheme.  We  shall 
reside  near  a  very  dear  friend  of  mine,  a  man 
versed  from  childhood  in  the  toils  of  the  garden 
and  the  field,  and  from  whom  I  shall  receive  every 
addition  to  my  comfort  which  an  earthly  friend  and 
adviser  can  give." 


S.    T.    COLERIDGE 

From  the  Original  Drawing  (see  Appendix  IV.  p.  236*). 
By  permission  of  Messrs.  T.  C.  &  E.  C.  JACK. 


CHARLES   LLOYD   THE   POET      151 

The  "Cottage  with  half  a  dozen  acres  of  land, 
in  an  enchanting  situation  near  Bridgewater,"  was 
at  Nether  Stowey,  and  the  friend  was  Thomas 
Poole.1  The  elder  Lloyd  fell  in  with  Coleridge's 
plans ;  the  arrangement  being  that  Charles  was 
to  pay  ;£8o  a  year  for  board,  lodgings,  and  in- 
struction. 

It  is  probable  that  there  was  little  of  systematic 
study  at  Nether  Stowey.  But  Charles  gained  all 
he  wished  for — and  perhaps  more — in  the  com- 
panionship of  a  kindred  mind  and  the  stimulus  of 
a  gifted  fellow-worker  in  the  field  of  poetry.  While 
at  Bristol  he  produced  a  folio  volume  in  memory  of 
his  grandmother,  Poems  on  the  Death  of  Priscilla 
Farmer^  to  which  Coleridge  wrote  the  introductory 
sonnet,  and  Coleridge's  old  schoolfellow  and  present 
correspondent,  Charles  Lamb,  then  at  the  India 
House,  contributed  "The  Grandam." 

A  tendency  to  melancholy  foreshadowing  the 
affliction  which  clouded  Charles  Lloyd's  later  years, 
and  settled  upon  him  permanently  towards  the  close 
of  his  life,  seems  to  have  engaged  the  solicitude  of 
his  friend.  Coleridge  addressed  to  Lloyd  about 
this  time  a  poem  adjuring  him  to  cease  self-pity, 
and  to  seek  escape  from  it  in  sympathy  with  those 
who  had  cause  to  mourn. 

"  Know  (and  the  truth  shall  kindle  thy  young  mind) 
What  Nature  makes  thee  mourn,  she  bids  thee  heal." 

His  fears  were  justified  by  an  illness  of  which 
he  writes  to  the  father,  under  date  November  14, 
1796.  Charles's  health,  he  states,  is  so  "unsatisfy- 
ing" as  to  shut  out  anything  but  amusement.  "  I 
chose  Dr.  Beddoes,"  he  explains,  "because  he  is  a 
philosopher,  and  the  knowledge  of  mind  is  essentially 

1  At  the  moment  that  I  write  a  project  to  purchase  this  cottage  for 
the  nation  is  before  the  public. 


152     THE    LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

requisite  in  order  to  the  well-treating  of  your  son's 
distemper." 

This  was  the  beginning  of  a  series  of  illnesses 
which  were  to  cloud  Charles  Lloyd's  life  till  the 
end,  and  reduce  to  a  great  extent  his  undoubted 
mental  gifts  to  powerlessness. 

"It  is  not  surprising,"  says  Mr.  Lucas,  "with 
Charles  Lloyd  in  such  a  state  and  his  own  move- 
ments so  impeded  by  domestic  responsibilities  and 
want  of  money,  that  Coleridge  should  wish  to  free 
himself  from  his  undertaking  with  regard  to  his 
disciple."  He  therefore  wrote  to  Charles  Lloyd, 
senior,  on  December  4,  1796,  suggesting  a  new 
arrangement,  under  which  the  younger  Lloyd  was 
to  occupy  a  room  in  the  cottage  "as  a  Lodger  and 
a  Friend."  "He  had  mentioned,"  he  states,  "to 
Charles,  the  circumstances  which  rendered  his 
literary  engagement  impracticable."  "I  never 
dreamt,"  he  adds,  "that  he  would  have  desired  to 
continue  with  me  :  and  when  at  length  he  did 
manifest  such  a  desire,  I  dissuaded  him  from  it. 
But  his  feelings  became  vehement,  and  it  would 
have  been  as  little  prudent  as  humane  in  me  to 
have  given  an  absolute  refusal.  Will  you  permit 
me,  Sir  !  to  write  of  Charles  with  freedom  ?  I  do 
not  think  he  ever  will  endure,  whatever  might  be 
the  consequences,  to  practise  as  a  physician,  or 
to  undertake  any  commercial  employment." 

Agriculture,  the  poet  concludes,  might  prove 
congenial  to  his  young  friend.  "  I  think  you  could 
wish  nothing  better  for  him  than  to  see  him  married, 
and  settled  near yoti  as  a  farmer.  I  love  him,  and 
do  not  think  he  will  be  well  or  happy  till  he  is 
married  and  settled." 

Charles  Lloyd's  desire  to  remain  with  the 
Coleridges  was  granted.  He  spent  Christmas  at 
home,  and  early  in  1796  joined  his  friends,  who  had 


CHARLES   LLOYD   THE    POET      153 

in  the  meantime  removed   from  Bristol  to  Nether 
Stowey. 

So  far,  Lloyd  had  known  Lamb  only  through 
Coleridge.  In  January  1797  he  visited  Lamb  in 
London.  That  the  impression  he  made  upon  "the 
gentle  Elia"  was  favourable  is  proved  by  Lamb's 
letters  to  Coleridge,  in  which  he  welcomed  the 
young  man  into  the  literary  companionship  which 
was  to  be  signalised  by  the  publication  of  a  joint 
volume  of  poems.  To  this  volume  Lamb  contri- 
buted some  verses,  "To  Charles  Lloyd,  an  unex- 
pected visitor."  One  or  two  extracts  will  serve 
better  than  anything  else  to  show  how  instantly 
Lamb  was  captivated. 

11  Alone,  obscure,  without  a  friend, 

A  cheerless,  solitary  thing, 
Why  seeks  my  Lloyd  the  stranger  out  ? 
What  offering  can  the  stranger  bring  ? 

For  this  gleam  of  random  joy 

Hath  flush'd  my  unaccustomed  cheek ; 

And,  with  an  o'er-charged  bursting  heart, 
I  feel  the  thanks  I  cannot  speak. 

Long,  long,  within  my  aching  heart 
The  grateful  sense  shall  cherished  be ; 

I'll  think  less  meanly  of  myself, 

That  Lloyd  will  sometimes  think  on  me." 

"Lamb,"  says  Mr.  Lucas,  "was  much  in  the 
shadow  of  the  tragedy  of  the  year  before,  and 
needed  a  mind  as  serious  and  sympathetic  as 
Charles  Lloyd's  to  sympathise  with  him  : l  and 
their  nearness  in  age — only  two  days  separated 
them  :  both  would  be  two-and-twenty  in  the  fol- 
lowing month — was  an  additional  bond.  Lloyd's 
spiritual  life,  in  spite  of  his  youth,  had  been  fully 

1  It  was  in   1796  that  his  sister,  in  a  fit  of  insanity,  had   taken  her 
mother's  life. 


i54     THE   LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

lived,  and  though  he  lacked  nimbleness,  flexibility, 
fun,  he  was  possessed  of  rare  intellectual  gifts, 
which  at  that  time  were  more  to  Lamb's  taste 
than  humorous  quickness.  It  is  probable  that 
the  two  friends  spoke  more  of  conduct  than  of 
literature." 

Charles  Lloyd  wrote  some  time  afterwards  to 
his  brother  Robert :  "I  left  Charles  Lamb  very 
warmly  interested  in  his  favour,  and  have  kept  up 
a  regular  correspondence  with  him  ever  since ;  he 
is  a  most  interesting  young  man."  The  corre- 
spondence with  Lamb  unfortunately  has  not  been 
preserved.  Lloyd  is  believed  to  have  preserved  all 
the  letters,  but  after  his  death  they  were  burned 
by  his  son  Grosvenor.  Only  three  or  four  remain, 
and  these  are  not  of  the  best. 

In  1797,  shortly  after  the  publication  of  the 
volume  of  poems  by  the  three  friends,  Lloyd  left 
Coleridge  and  returned  to  Birmingham.  His 
health  had  again  failed  and  unsettlement  had 
grown  upon  him.  "You  will  pray  with  me," 
wrote  Lamb,  "for  his  recovery,  for,  surely,  Cole- 
ridge, an  exquisiteness  of  feeling  like  this  must 
border  on  derangement." 

In  September  1797,  in  a  poem  by  Lamb  on  the 
anniversary  of  his  mother's  death,  which  was  sent 
to  Coleridge,  there  are  references  to  his  friendship 
for  Lloyd,  and  to  the  latter's  affliction  :— 

"  I  thought  on  Lloyd — 
All  he  had  been  to  me  .  .  . 
I  pray  not  for  myself.     I  pray  for  him 
Whose  soul  is  sore  perplexed.     Shine  Thou  on  him, 
Father  of  lights  !  and  in  the  difficult  paths 
Make  plain  his  way  before  him." 

Referring  to  a  coldness  that  had  arisen  between 
Lloyd  and  Coleridge,  Lamb  writes:  "You  use 
Lloyd  very  ill,  never  writing  to  him.  I  tell  you 


CHARLES    LLOYD   THE    POKT   AM)    HIS   WIFE. 
From    a    Drawing. 


CHARLES    LLOYD   THE    POET      155 

again  that  his  is  not  a  mind  with  which  you  should 
play  tricks.  He  deserves  more  tenderness  from 
you."  This  coldness  in  part  arose  from  Lloyd,  in 
his  novel,  Edmund  Oliver,  having  made  use  of 
experiences  and  incidents  in  Coleridge's  life  when 
he  was  a  private  soldier.  But  there  is  no  doubt 
also  that  with  too  much  trust  in  other  people's 
discretion,  he  had  unwisely  let  his  tongue  play 
around  the  home-life  at  Nether  Stowey  and  certain 
weaknesses  of  S.  T.  C. — so  much  to  Coleridge's 
disapproval  that  what  had  begun  as  a  coldness  soon 
developed  into  a  real  quarrel  and  breach.  For  a 
while  Lamb's  sympathy  was  with  Charles  Lloyd, 
but  he  came  to  see  that  new  friendships  must  not 
injure  old  ones,  and  he  arid  Coleridge  were  recon- 
ciled. The  story  may  be  read  at  some  length  in 
Charles  Lamb  and  the  Lloyds.  I  prefer  to  say  no 
more  of  it  here. 

In  1799  Charles  Lloyd  unwittingly  performed  a 
signal  service  to  literature.  He  had  settled  at  Cam- 
bridge, whither  Lamb  came  to  see  him,  and  while 
his  guest  there  was  introduced  to  Thomas  Manning, 
Lloyd's  mathematical  tutor.  To  Thomas  Manning 
Lamb  indited  some  of  his  best  letters  ;  and  he  it 
was  who  furnished  the  Chinese  story  which  sug- 
gested to  Lamb  his  Dissertation  on  Roast  Pig. 
Robert  Lloyd,  Charles's  brother,  also  became  a 
friend  and  correspondent  of  Manning. 

It  was  during  his  residence  at  Cambridge  that 
Charles  Lloyd  married.  He  had  long  found  it 
impossible  to  remain  insensible  to  the  charms  of 
Sophia,  daughter  of  Samuel  Pemberton  of  Birming- 
ham. But  alas  !  she  happened  to  be  outside  the 
very  select  few  his  parents  would  have  chosen  for 
him.  His  mind  was  strangely  uncertain  even  here, 
for  having  once  gone  so  far  as  to  make  her  an 
offer  in  a  letter,  thinking  it  premature  he  hired  a 


156     THE   LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

post-chaise,  overtook  the  mail,  and  got  it  back 
again.  Not  only  had  he  difficulties  with  his  own 
parents  to  overcome,  but,  according  to  De  Quincey, 
Miss  Pemberton's  parents  discouraged  the  young 
man's  attentions.  He  had  at  one  time  even  de- 
vised a  plan  for  carrying  her  off  by  force,  with  the 
assistance  of  no  less  reputable  a  person  than 
Robert  Southey  ;  but  this  very  poetical  enterprise 
fell  through.  Parental  obstacles  being  overcome, 
the  marriage  took  place  on  February  12,  1799, 
and,  through  Robert,  Lamb  sent  to  Charles  his 
"  warmest  wishes  for  his  and  Sophia's  happiness." 

Lloyd  continued  to  write  poetry  when  his  health 
allowed.  He  contributed,  in  1799,  to  the  Annual 
Anthology,  edited  by  Southey  for  the  publisher 
Cottle  (with  whom  Lamb,  Lloyd,  and  Coleridge 
had  already  been  associated),  four  poems,  one  of 
them  Lines  to  a  Brother  and  Sister  (Robert  and 
Olivia). 

In  the  summer  of  1802  he  went  to  live  at  Old 
Brathay.  Coleridge,  too,  had  taken  up  his  residence 
in  the  Lake  District,  and  though  he  had  declared 
that  he  would  not  call  upon  Lloyd,  the  association 
was  patched  up  for  a  time,  through  the  influence, 
it  is  believed,  of  Dorothy  Wordsworth.  Amongst 
others,  Sir  Walter  Scott  was  one  of  Lloyd's  friends,1 
and  with  the  poet  Wordsworth  he  became  very 
intimate.  The  intercourse  with  Lamb  also  seems 
to  have  been  more  or  less  renewed.  Robert  Lloyd 
writes  of  him  in  March  1803  :  "  Charles  has  become 
steady  as  a  Church,  and  as  straightforward  as  a 
Roman  road.  It  would  distract  him  to  mention 
anything  that  was  not  as  plain  as  sense  ;  he  seems 
to  have  run  the  whole  scenery  of  life,  and  now  rests 
at  the  formal  precision  of  non-existence." 

1  The  acquaintance  probably  commenced  during  his  stay  in  Edinburgh 
in  1794. 


CHARLES    LLOYD   THE    POET      157 

The  records  of  the  life  at  Old  Brathay  are 
meagre.  When  he  was  well  he  was  a  happy  man  ; 
but  under  his  afflictions  he  was  in  the  depths  of 
despair.  Dr.  Garnett,  writing  in  the  Dictionary  of 
National  Biography,  says  that  his  fits  of  gloom 
bore  a  curious  likeness  to  those  which  depressed 
Cowper.  But  during  his  less  troubled  periods 
Lloyd's  condition  had  little  resemblance  to  those 
of  the  recluse  of  Olney.  His  house  was  noisy 
with  children,  to  whom  he  was  a  loving  and 
solicitous  parent ;  his  wife  was  ever  at  his  side  ; 
members  of  his  family  continually  paid  him  visits, 
and  in  the  neighbourhood  he  had  many  friends. 
His  tastes  were  simple,  walking,  with  long  pauses 
for  the  contemplation  of  scenery,  gardening,  read- 
ing, and  conversation  at  high  pressure — these  were 
his  favourite  beguilements.  According  to  De 
Quincey,  Lloyd's  house  was  at  one  time  a  centre 
of  gaiety.  Many  dinner-parties  were  given,  at 
which  he  was  an  admirable  host,  and  there  were 
even  dances,  in  which,  though  he  took  no  part, 
he  found  much  pleasure. 

The  Old  Brathay  cottage  numbered  among 
its  visitors,  in  addition  to  the  Wordsworths,  the 
Southeys,  "Christopher  North"  (Professor  John 
Wilson),  Jane  Penny  (afterwards  his  wife),  Dr. 
Watson  (Bishop  of  Llandaff),  Miss  Watson,  his 
daughter  (with  whom  Charles  Lloyd  corresponded 
in  French),  and  De  Quincey.  By  the  last  named 
Charles  Lloyd  is  thus  described  :— 

"Lloyd  could  not,  in  candour,  be  considered  a  common 
man.  Common  !  He  was  a  man  never  to  be  forgotten.  He  had 
in  conversation  the  most  extraordinary  powers  of  analysis  of  a 
certain  kind  applied  to  the  philosophy  of  manners,  and  the 
most  delicate  nuances  of  social  life,  and  his  translation  of 
Alfieri,  together  with  his  own  poems,  show  him  to  have  been 
an  accomplished  scholar.  He  was  tall  and  somewhat  clumsy 


158     THE    LLOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 

— not  intellectual  so  much  as  benign  and  conciliatory  in  his 
expression  of  face.  His  features  were  not  striking,  but  they 
expressed  great  goodness  of  heart ;  and  latterly  wore  a  depre- 
catory expression  that  was  peculiarly  touching  to  those  who 
knew  its  cause.  ...  It  was  really  a  delightful  luxury  to  hear 
him  giving  free  scope  to  his  powers  for  investigating  subtle 
combinations  of  character ;  for  distinguishing  all  the  shades 
and  affinities  of  some  presiding  qualities,  disentangling  their 
intricacies,  and  balancing,  antithetically,  one  combination  of 
qualities  against  another." 

For  Mrs.  Lloyd  De  Quincey  had  a  great 
admiration  and  respect.  He  declared  her  to  be 
"unsurpassed  as  wife  and  mother";  and  her  ap- 
pearance, he  said,  "reminded  him  of  Mrs.  Jordan, 
the  actress." 

"  Lloyd  appreciated  Pope,"  wrote  Hartley 
Coleridge,  "as  rightly  as  any  man  I  ever  knew, 
which  I  ascribe  partly  to  his  intelligent  enjoyment 
of  French  writers,  tempered  as  it  was  with  reve- 
rent admiration  of  the  greater  English."  Charles 
Lloyd's  wife,  he  added,  "was  one  of  the  best 
of  women." 

Shelley  was  among  those  upon  whom  Lloyd's 
subtle  mind  exercised  a  strong  fascination.  Re- 
ferring to  Lloyd's  copy  of  Berkeley's  works,  which 
he  borrowed  through  Southey,  while  on  a  visit  to 
the  Lake  District,  he  wrote  in  1819,  to  Leigh 
Hunt:  "I  remember  observing  some  pencil  notes 
in  it,  probably  written  by  Lloyd,  which  I  thought 
particularly  acute.  One  especially  struck  me  as 
being  the  assertion  of  a  doctrine  of  which  even 
then  I  had  long  been  persuaded.  .  .  .  '  Mind 
cannot  create  ;  it  can  only  perceive.' ' 

In  the  spring  of  1818,  Lloyd,  leaving  his  wife 
and  children  for  a  time  in  the  north,  paid  a  visit 
to  London,  when  the  gloom  which  had  settled 
upon  his  spirit  began  to  break.  Macready,  in  his 
Reminiscences,  tells  of  the  receipt  of  an  unsigned 


CHARLES    LLOYD   THE    POET      159 

letter  of  gratitude  and  a  sonnet  of  appreciation. 
The  sonnet  a  year  or  two  later  came  to  him 
again  in  a  presentation  volume  of  poetry,  and 
Macready  then  knew  that  the  author  was  Charles 
Lloyd.  The  unsigned  letter  told  Macready  that 
his  performance  as  Rob  Roy,  in  the  play  of  Rob 
Roy  McGregor,  had  caused  the  writer  the  first 
gush  of  tears  that  had  come  to  him  for  years,  with 
which  restoration  of  sensibility  came  a  renewal  of 
mental  health  and  activity. 

His  London  life  at  this  period  brought  him 
the  acquaintance  of,  among  others,  Hazlitt,  Leigh 
Hunt,  Procter  ("Barry  Cornwall"),  Godwin  and 
his  wife  (Mary  Wollstonecraft),  Joanna  Baillie,  Mrs. 
Barbauld,  and  Miss  Aikin.  The  first  public  indica- 
tion of  his  renewed  literary  activity  was  the  issue  of 
Nugce  Canorce,  in  which  were  included  some  of  his 
earlier  poems  and  some  new  ones.  It  was  dedicated 
to  his  wife.  It  was  not  remarkable,  yet  was  well 
reviewed,  notably  by  "  Christopher  North"  in  Black- 
wood.  Coleridge's  copy,  with  his  very  characteristic 
pencillings  in  the  margin,  is  in  the  British  Museum. 

Nothing  that  Charles  Lloyd  wrote,  it  may  be 
said  here,  has  passed  into  the  language,  and  his 
poems  are  rarely  seen  now,  either  in  their  own 
volumes  or  in  anthologies  ;  but  his  intellect  was 
a  very  curious  one,  and  his  work  was  always 
marked  by  sincerity.  His  metaphysical  tendency 
led  Lamb  to  make  the  amusing  but  not  unilluminat- 
ing  comment  that  his  poetry  could  not  be  read 
u  standing  on  one  leg."  Dr.  Garnett's  criticism 
in  the  Dictionary  of  National  Biography  may  be 
quoted  : — 

"Lloyd  cannot  be  ranked  among  good  poets,  but  his 
writings  are  the  reflection  of  an  interesting  personality.  De 
Quincey  compares  him  with  Rousseau,  whom  he  certainly  re- 
sembles in  sentimental  pensiveness  and  intense  love  of  nature. 


160     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

As  a  descriptive  poet  he  has  considerable  merit,  and  exhibits 
that  gift  of  minute  observation  so  frequently  found  combined 
with  powers  of  mental  analysis.  His  poetry,  however,  is 
mainly  subjective,  and  monotonous  from  the  writer's  continual 
self-absorption.  His  versification  is  frequently  worse  than 
inharmonious,  and  his  diction  so  prosaic  as  to  evince  that 
his  power  of  expression  bore  no  proportion  to  his  power  of 
thought.  His  best  poem  is  Desultory  Thoughts  in  London, 
which  contains,  with  other  good  passages,  a  beautiful  descrip- 
tion of  his  home  in  Westmoreland,  and  deeply  felt  though 
poorly  composed  eulogies  on  Lamb  and  Coleridge.  His 
abilities  as  a  thinker  were  highly  estimated  by  those  who 
knew  him  intimately.  '  It  was  really  a  delightful  luxury/ 
declares  De  Quincey,  '  to  hear  him  giving  free  scope  to  his 
powers  for  investigating  subtle  combinations  of  character.' 
*  His  mind/  says  Talfourd,  '  was  chiefly  remarkable  for  a  fine 
power  of  analysis.  In  this  power  of  discriminating  and  dis- 
tinguishing, carried  almost  to  a  pitch  of  painfulness,  Lloyd  has 
scarcely  been  equalled.' " 

In  1822  Lloyd's  literary  career  had  reached  its 
climax.  In  that  year  he  published  The  Duke  of 
Ormond,  a  Tragedy,  and  Isabella,  a  Tale,  with  the 
poem,  Desultory  Thoughts  in  London.  In  1823 
the  shadow  of  his  affliction  returned,  never  again 
to  depart.  He  took  up  his  abode  in  France,  and 
on  January  16,  1839,  a  month  before  his  sixty- 
fourth  birthday,  he  passed  away.  The  wife  who 
had  tenderly  watched  him  did  not  long  survive  him. 
She  died  at  Versailles,  August  7,  1839,  at  the  age 
of  fifty-three. 

Of  her  nine  children,  eight  survived  her.  One 
of  the  sons  became  the  Rev.  Owen  Lloyd,  Vicar  of 
Langdale.  Edward,  another  of  the  sons,  wrote  a 
pamphlet  addressed  to  Sir  G.  C.  Lewis,  M.P.,  and 
was  manager  of  the  National  Provincial  Bank  in 
Birmingham  with  Henry  Rotton.  He  was  then 
promoted  to  the  N.B.  Bank,  Liverpool,  and  after- 
wards founded  the  stockbroking  business  in 
Copthall  Court  which  was  successfully  carried 


CHARLES    LLOYD   THE   POET      161 

on  by  the  late  Charles  Arthur  Lloyd.  From  the 
daughter  Agatha  was  descended,  among  others, 
Mr.  Stephen  Phillips,  who  has  achieved  fame  as  the 
author  of  Christ  in  Hades  and  Marpessa,  and  who, 
by  virtue  of  his  Herod,  Paolo  and  Francesa,  and 
Nero,  is  now  recognised  as  the  leading  English 
poetical  dramatist. 

Let  me  end  this  chapter  with  a  few  words  about 
Owen  Lloyd,  Charles  Lloyd's  son,  who  entered 
the  Church,  became  incumbent  of  Langdale,  in  the 
Lake  Country,  and  was  there  the  darling  of  his 
parishioners,  who  knew  him  affectionately  as  "  Lile 
Owey" —  Little  Owen.  Owen  Lloyd  brought 
happiness  to  others,  but  after  his  boyhood  knew 
little  himself,  having  inherited  too  much  of  his 
father's  temperament.  Early  in  life  he  had  suffered 
a  love  disappointment,  from  which  he  never  rightly 
recovered.  Wordsworth,  who  was  his  firm  friend 
throughout,  addressed  to  him,  in  1826,  the  remon- 
strance beginning,  "  Ere  with  cold  beads  of  midnight 
dew,"  ending  with  the  rally,  "A  Briton,  even  in 
love,  should  be  a  subject,  not  a  slave."  But  it  was 
in  vain  :  Owen  Lloyd  began  to  display  a  grievous 
tendency  to  religious  melancholia.  By  Words- 
worth's advice  he  moved  from  Langdale  to  more 
exacting  pastoral  work  at  Whitwick,  in  order  to 
divert  his  mind.  In  a  while  the  experiment  was 
successful,  and  then  Owen  Lloyd  gave  way.  He 
died  in  1841,  and  was  carried  to  Langdale  to  be 
buried  in  the  churchyard  there. 

Charles  Lloyd  and  Coleridge  being  doomed  to 
misunderstanding,  it  is  the  more  pleasant  to  think 
upon  the  trusting  friendship  which  these  two  gentle 
and  melancholy  sons,  Owen  Lloyd  and  Hartley 
Coleridge,  enjoyed  from  boyhood  onwards.  Both 
Wordsworth  and  Hartley  wrote  poems  on  Lile 
Owey's  death.  Hartley  wrote  also  this  touching 


162     THE    LILOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 

"  Schoolfellow's  Tribute,"  which  was  circulated  in 
leaflet  form  among  Lile  Owey's  friends  and  is  prized 
in  Lake  Country  cottages  to  this  day  : — 


I 

"  I  was  a  comrade  of  his  childish  days, 
And  then  he  was  to  me  a  little  boy, 
My  junior  much,  a  child  of  winning  ways — 
His  every  moment  was  a  throb  of  joy. 

Fine  wit  he  had — and  knew  not  it  was  wit, 

And  native  thoughts  before  he  dreamed  of  thinking  ; 

Odd  sayings  too  for  each  occasion  fit, 

To  oldest  sights  the  newest  fancies  linking. 

And  his  the  hunter's  bounding  strength  of  spirit, 
The  fisher's  patient  craft  and  quick  delight 

To  watch  his  line — to  see  a  small  fish  near  it — 
A  nibble ah  !  what  extacy  !  a  bite. 

Years  glided  on,  a  week  was  then  a  year — 
Fools  only  say  that  happy  hours  are  short ; 

Time  lingers  long  on  moments  that  are  dear, 
Long  is  the  summer  holiday  of  sport. 

But  then,  our  days  were  each  a  perfect  round— 
Our  farthest  bourne  of  hope  and  fear — To-day. 

Each  morn — To-night  appeared  the  utmost  bound, 
And  let  the  morrow — be  whate'er  it  may. 

But  on  the  morrow  he  is  in  the  cliff — 

He  hangs  midway  the  falcon's  nest  to  plunder : 

Behold  him  sticking  like  an  ivy  leaf 

To  the  tall  rock — he  cares  not  what  is  under. 


II 


I  traced  with  him  the  narrow  winding  path 
Which  he  pursued,  when  upland  was  his  way ; 

And  then  I  wondered — what  stern  hand  of  wrath 
Had  smitten  him  that  wont  to  be  so  gay. 


CHARLES   LLOYD   THE    POET      163 

Then  would  he  tell  me  of  a  woful  weight — 
A  weight  laid  on  him  by  a  Bishop's  hand, — 

That  late  and  early,  early  still  and  late, 

He  could  not  bear,  and  yet  could  not  withstand. 

Of  holy  thoughts  he  spoke,  and  purpose  high 
Dead  in  his  heart,  and  yet  like  spectres  stirring ; 

Of  Hope  that  could  not  either  live  or  die, 

And  Faith  confused  with  self-abhorred  demurring. 

How  beautiful  the  feet  that  from  afar 

Bring  happy  tidings  of  eternal  good ; 
Then  kiss  the  feet  that  so  bewildered  are — 

They  cannot  farther  go,  where  fain  they  would. 


Ill 

I  saw  his  coffin — 'twas  enough.     I  saw 

That  he  was  gone — that  his  deep  wound  was  healed. 
No  more  he  struggles  betwixt  faith  and  law, 

The  fulness  of  his  bliss  is  now  revealed. 

He  rests  in  peace ;  in  Langdale's  peaceful  vale 
He  sleeps  secure  beneath  the  grassy  sod. 

Ah  no,  he  doth  not — he  hath  heard  '  All  hail, 
Thou  faithful  servant,'  from  the  throne  of  God." 


CHAPTER    XV 

ROBERT   LLOYD   AND   CHARLES   LAMB 

Charles  Lamb's  letter  of  advice — Duty  to  parents — A  mother's  letter — 
A  runaway  — Charles  Lloyd  of  Bingley  in  London  — Lamb  on 
marriage — Robert  Lloyd  marries — A  determined  bachelor — Robert 
Lloyd  in  London — Literary  society — A  glimpse  of  Charles  and  Mary 
Lamb  at  home — Robert  Lloyd's  death — Lamb's  memoir  of  him 

ROBERT,  the  third  son  of  Charles  Lloyd  the  banker, 
though  he  did  not  share  his  brother's  literary  power, 
affords  an  interesting  study.  His  comparatively 
early  death  cut  short  an  intellectual  expansion  that 
was  proceeding  apace  under  the  fostering  influences 
of  Charles  Lamb  and  other  eminent  men  in  the 
literary  circle  to  which  his  brother  Charles  had 
introduced  him.  It  is  through  Lamb's  letters  that 
we  get  the  most  picturesque  glimpses  of  Robert's 
character.  Robert  would  not  have  lived  in  vain 
if  he  had  done  nothing  more  than  give  occasion 
for  these  letters.  Lamb  adds  to  his  claims  upon  us 
by  the  patience  and  insight  shown  in  his  dealings 
with  the  wayward  youth,  helping  him  to  a  better 
knowledge  of  his  own  capabilities,  and  of  the  moral 
and  intellectual  worth  of  the  father,  towards  whom 
at  one  time  he  seemed  disposed  to  play  the  rebel. 

Robert  Lloyd  appears  to  have  met  Lamb  in 
London  late  in  1796.  At  that  time  the  young  man 
was  serving  his  apprenticeship  at  Saffron  Walden. 
Lamb  writes  to  Robert  early  in  1798,  claiming  him 
as  one  of  his  very  dearest  friends.  In  a  later  letter 
Lamb  deals  exclusively  with  Robert's  affairs  and 

state  of  mind  ;  and  it  is  so  quaint  an  illustration  of 

164 


ROBERT   LLOYD    AND    LAMB       165 

Lamb's  methods  as  a  mentor,  that  it  may  be  well 
to  give  it  in  full.  It  throws  a  light,  too,  on  the 
perplexities  caused  to  the  worthy  banker  by  the 
drifting  away  of  some  of  his  family  from  the  re- 
ligious doctrine  which  he  and  his  ancestors  had 
done  so  much  to  adorn. 


DEAR  ROBERT,  —  I  acknowledge  that  I  have  been 
sadly  remiss  of  late.  If  I  descend  to  any  excuse  (and  all 
excuses  that  come  short  of  a  direct  denial  of  a  charge  are 
poor  creatures  at  best),  it  must  be  taken  from  my  state  of 
mind  for  some  time  past,  which  has  been  stupid  rather,  and 
unfilled  with  any  object,  than  occupied,  as  you  may  imagine, 
with  any  favourite  idea  to  the  exclusion  of  friend  Robert. 
You,  who  are  subject  to  all  the  varieties  of  the  mind,  will 
give  me  credit  in  this. 

"  I  am  sadly  sorry  that  you  are  relapsing  into  your  old 
complaining  strain.  I  wish  I  could  adapt  my  consolations 
to  your  disease,  but,  alas  !  I  have  none  to  offer  which  your 
own  mind,  and  the  suggestions  of  books,  cannot  better  supply. 
Are  you  the  first  whose  situation  hath  not  been  exactly 
squar'd  to  his  ideas  ?  or  rather,  will  you  find  me  that  man 
who  does  not  complain  of  the  one  thing  wanting?  That 
thing  obtained,  another  wish  will  start  up.  While  this  eternal 
craving  of  the  mind  keeps  up  its  eternal  hunger,  no  feast  that 
my  palate  knows  of  will  satisfy  that  hunger  till  we  come 
to  drink  the  new  wine  (whatever  it  be)  in  the  Kingdom  of 
the  Father.  See  what  trifles  disquiet  us.  —  You  are  unhappy 
because  your  parents  expect  you  to  attend  meetings.  I  don't 
know  much  of  Quakers'  meetings,  but  I  believe  I  may 
moderately  reckon  them  to  take  up  the  space  of  six  hours 
in  the  week.  Six  hours  to  please  your  parents  —  and  that 
time  not  absolutely  lost.  Your  mind  remains  ;  you  may  think, 
and  plan,  remember,  and  foresee,  and  do  all  human  acts  of 
mind  sitting  as  well  as  walking.  You  are  quiet  at  meeting  : 
one  likes  to  be  so  sometimes  ;  you  may  advantageously  crowd 
your  day's  devotions  into  that  space.  Nothing  you  see  or 
hear  there  can  be  unfavourable  to  it  —  you  are  for  that  time 
at  least  exempt  from  the  counting-house,  and  your  parents 
cannot  chide  you  there;  surely  at  so  small  an  expense  you 
cannot  grudge  to  observe  the  Fifth  Commandment.  I  decidedly 
consider  your  refusal  as  a  breach  of  that  God-descended 


1 66     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

precept — Honour  and  observe  thy  parents  in  all  lawful  things. 
Silent  worship  cannot  be  unlawful;  there  is  no  idolatry,  no 
invocation  of  saints,  no  bowing  before  the  consecrated  wafer 
in  all  this,  nothing  which  a  wise  man  would  refuse,  or  a  good 
man  fear  to  do.  What  is  it  ?  Sitting  a  few  hours  in  a  week 
with  certain  good  people  who  call  that  worship.  You  subscribe 
to  no  articles — if  your  mind  wanders,  it  is  no  crime  in  you 
who  do  not  give  credit  to  these  infusions  of  the  spirit.  They 
sit  in  a  temple,  you  sit  as  in  a  room  adjoining,  only  do  not 
disturb  their  pious  work  with  gabbling,  nor  your  own  neces- 
sary peace  with  heart-burnings  at  your  not  ill-meaning  parents, 
nor  a  silly  contempt  of  the  work  which  is  going  on  before 
you.  I  know  that  if  my  parents  were  to  live  again,  I  would 
do  more  things  to  please  them  than  merely  sitting  still  six 
hours  in  a  week.  Perhaps  I  enlarge  too  much  on  this  affair, 
but  indeed  your  objection  seems  to  me  ridiculous,  and  involving 
in  it  a  principle  of  frivolous  and  vexatious  resistance. 

"  You  have  often  borne  with  my  freedoms,  bear  with  me 
once  more  in  this.  If  I  did  not  love  you,  I  should  not  trouble 
myself  whether  you  went  to  meeting  or  not — whether  you 
conform'd  or  not  [to]  the  will  of  your  father." 

This  good  seed  sown  by  Lamb  and  afterwards 
watered  by  many  conversations  with  his  friend 
Manning  sprang  up  under  the  sunny  influences 
which  both  the  friends  brought  to  bear.  Some 
years  later,  near  the  close  of  Robert's  life,  he  thus 
writes  to  his  friend  Manning  : — 

"  I  feel  more  attached  to  my  family,  and  I  fully  intend 
going  to  the  Quakers'  Meetings  again.  Not  that  my  father 
has  spoken  to  me  of  it,  for  he  behaves  in  the  most  noble 
manner  to  me,  but  I  can  no  longer  withstand  his  affectionate 
solicitude  without  showing  some  free  gift,  something  which 
will  give  him  great  pleasure  and  which  is  his  right — my 
sitting  two  hours  on  a  Sunday  under  the  same  roof  in 
silence." 

But  to  return  to  the  time  of  Robert's  revolt 
against  the  discipline  and  tenets  of  the  Friends, 
a  state  of  mind  which  was  indeed  sorely  troubling 
his  parents.  His  mother,  in  August  of  the  same 


ROBERT   LLOYD   AND    LAMB       167 

year,  wrote  to  him  as  follows  :  "  Permit  me  to  drop 
one  hint  more,  and  then  I  hope  this  sermon  will 
be  ended.  I  was  grieved  to  hear  of  thy  appearing 
in  those  fantastical  trousers  in  London.  I  am 
clear  such  eccentricities  of  dress  would  only  make 
thee  laughed  at  by  the  World,  whilst  thy  sincere 
friends  would  be  deeply  hurt.  Canst  thou  love  thy 
father  and  yet  do  things  that  sink  him  as  well  as 
thyself  in  the  opinion  of  our  best  Friends  ?  Thou 
art,  my  dear  son,  form'd  to  make  an  amiable  figure 
in  Society,  but  for  once  trust  to  the  judgment  of 
thy  mother,  neither  thy  person  nor  mind  are  form'd 
for  eccentricities  of  dress  or  conduct."  The  father, 
too,  remonstrated,  thus:  "  Thou  wilt  please  me 
by  observing  simplicity  in  thy  dress  and  manner. 
Do  not  let  the  customs  of  the  world  influence 
thee." 

The  mother  never  lost  the  love  of  the  children 
who  were  so  grieving  her.  Nor  did  her  grief  exhibit 
itself  in  harshness.  In  time,  it  would  appear,  she 
ceased  to  vex  herself  about  non-essentials  in  her 
children's  behaviour  ;  though  her  sorrow  at  their 
graver  departures  from  Quaker  belief  and  strictness 
of  conduct  must  have  remained. 

Robert,  having  run  away  from  Saffron  Walden,, 
had  taken  shelter  with  Lamb,  who  writes  :  "  What 
the  issue  of  his  adventure  will  be,  I  know  not.  He 
hath  the  sweetness  of  an  angel  in  his  heart,  com- 
bined with  admirable  firmness  of  purpose ;  and 
uncultivated,  but  very  original,  and  I  think  superior, 
genius."  Robert  is  next  heard  of  at  Worcester, 
staying  with  his  uncle,  Nehemiah  Lloyd. 

Returning  to  Birmingham,  Robert  Lloyd  met 
Thomas  Manning,  the  mathematical  tutor  to  Charles 
already  mentioned,  and  between  them  a  warm  and 
enduring  friendship  ensued.  Manning  was  then 
about  twenty-seven  and  Robert  twenty-one.  After 


1 68     THE   LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

an  introduction  to  Coleridge,  Manning  writes  :  "I 
was  introduced  to  Coleridge,  which  was  a  great 
gratification  to  me.  I  think  him  a  man  of  very 
splendid  abilities  and  animated  feelings.  But  let 
me  whisper  a  word  in  your  ear,  Robert — twenty 
Coleridges  could  not  supply  your  loss  to  me,  if  you 
were  to  forsake  me.  So  if  any  friendly  interposer 
should  come  and  tell  you  I  am  not  what  I  seem, 
and  warn  you  against  my  friendship,  beware  of 
listening  to  him.  ..." 

The  correspondence  with  Lamb  continued,  and 
the  interchange  of  letters  between  Lamb  and 
Charles  Lloyd,  senior,  proves  that  Robert's  esca- 
pade had  brought  no  blame  to  his  friend.  It  was 
in  December  1797  that  the  banker  met  Charles 
Lamb  in  London,  and  invited  him  to  breakfast  and 
dinnqr  at  David  Barclay's  house.  In  a  letter  to 
"dear  Rob"  Lamb  describes  the  dinner  and  what 
followed  :— 

"Your  father  was  in  one  of  his  best  humours  (I  have 
seldom  seen  him  in  one  not  good),  and  after  dinner,  while 
we  were  sitting  comfortably  before  the  parlour  fire,  after  our 
wine,  he  beckoned  me  suddenly  out  of  the  room.  I,  expecting 
some  secrets,  followed  him,  but  it  was  only  to  go  and  sit  with 
him  in  the  old  forsaken  counting-house,  which  he  declared 
to  be  the  pleasantest  spot  in  the  house  to  him,  and  told  me 
how  much  business  used  to  be  done  there  in  former  days. 
Your  father  whimsically  mixes  the  good  man  and  the  man 
of  business  in  his  manners,  but  he  is  not  less  a  good  man 
for  being  a  man  of  business.  He  has  conceived  great  hope 
of  thy  one  day  uniting  both  characters,  and  I  joyfully  expect 
the  same.  I  hope  to  see  Priscilla,  for  the  first  time,  some 
day  at  the  end  of  this  week." 

Priscilla  Lloyd,  who  had  joined  her  father  in 
London,  was  the  sister  who  afterwards  married 
Christopher  Wordsworth.  The  counting-house  was 
David  Barclay's,  where  Charles  Lloyd,  senior,  had 
served  his  apprenticeship  in  banking. 


ROBERT    LLOYD    AND    LAMB       169 

Robert  at  that  time  was  contemplating*  marriage. 
In  a  letter  dated  March  13,  1804,  Lamb  wrote  to 
him  : — 

"  I  hear  that  you  are  about  to  be  married.  Joy  to  you 
and  uninterrupted  satisfaction  in  that  state ;  but  who  is  the 
lady  ?  It  is  the  character  of  your  letters  that  you  omit  facts, 
dates,  names,  and  matter,  and  describe  nothing  but  feelings, 
in  which,  as  I  cannot  always  partake,  as  being  more  intense 
in  degree,  or  different  in  kind,  from  my  own  tranquil  ones, 
I  cannot  always  well  tell  how  to  reply." 

The  letter  concludes,  after  an  expression  ot 
affectionate  longing  to  see  the  writer  : — 

"  I  could  tell  you  many  things,  but  you  are  so  spiritual 
and  abstracted,  that  I  fear  to  insult  you  with  tidings  of  this 
world.  But  may  your  approaching  husband-hood  humanise 
you.  I  think  I  see  a  dawn.  I  am  sure  a  joy  is  rising  upon 
you,  and  I  stand  on  tiptoe  to  see  the  sun  ascending  till  it 
gets  up  and  up,  and  '  while  a  man  tells  the  story,'  shows  at 
last  a  fair  face  and  a  full  light. 

"  God  bless  you,  Roby, 

"C.  L." 

The  lady  upon  whom  Robert's  affections  were 
set  was  Hannah  Hart,  the  daughter  of  Francis 
Hart,  of  Nottingham,  banker.  The  marriage  took 
place  on  August  2,  1804,  in  the  meeting-house 
at  Castle  Donnington,  Leicestershire.  The  bride 
and  her  family  were  Quakers,  and  Robert  Lloyd,  as 
we  have  seen,  had  returned  to  the  faith  of  his  fathers, 
though,  singularly,  one  of  his  love-letters  reveals 
the  fact  that  he  had  joined  the  Militia.  Lamb's 
congratulations  form  the  subject  of  a  letter,  in  this 
inimitable  letter-writer's  happy  vein  of  mingled 
raillery  and  wisdom  : — 

"  Some  day  I  certainly  shall  come  and  see  you  in  your 
new  light ;  no  longer  the  restless  (but  good  ?)  single  Robert  ; 
but  now  the  staid,  sober  (and  not  less  good)  married  Robert. 
And  how  does  Plumstead,  the  impetuous,  take  your  getting 


170     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

the  start  of  him  ?  When  will  he  subside  into  matrimony  ? 
Priscilla  has  taken  a  long  time  indeed  to  think  about  it.  I 
will  suppose  that  her  first  choice  is  now  her  final;  though 
you  do  not  expressly  say  that  she  is  to  be  a  Wordsworth. 
I  wish  her,  and  dare  promise  her,  all  happiness. 

"All  these  new  nuptials  do  not  make  me  unquiet  in  the 
perpetual  prospect  of  celibacy.  There  is  a  quiet  dignity  in  old 
bachelorhood,  a  leisure  from  cares,  noise,  &c.,  an  enthroniza- 
tion  upon  the  armed-chair  of  a  man's  feeling  that  he  may 
sit,  walk,  read,  unmolested,  to  none  accountable — but  hush  ! 
or  I  shall  be  torn  in  pieces  like  a  churlish  Orpheus  by  young 
married  women  and  bridesmaids  of  Birmingham.  The  close 
is  this,  to  every  man  that  way  of  life,  which  in  his  election 
is  best.  Be  as  happy  in  yours  as  I  am  determined  to  be  in 
mine,  and  we  shall  strive  lovingly  who  shall  sing  the  best 
the  praises  of  matrimony,  and  the  praises  of  singleness." 

Plumstead  was  the  fourth  son,  and  fifth  child 
of  Charles  Lloyd  the  banker.  Priscilla  was  the 
ninth  of  the  family  and  the  eldest  surviving 
daughter.  Christopher  Wordsworth,  her  husband, 
was  then  a  Norfolk  rector,  and  a  few  months  later 
became  Vicar  of  St.  Mary's,  Lambeth.  Priscilla 
had  left  the  Friends,  but  was  not  baptized  until 
the  morning  of  her  marriage-day. 

Lamb's  longing  for  a  sight  of  his  friend's  face 
was  not  gratified  until  early  in  1809  when  Robert 
Lloyd  visited  London  on  business.  The  rapturous 
anticipations  expressed  on  receiving  the  news  of 
the  intended  visit  show  that  though  the  intercourse 
had  been,  as  Lamb  says,  broken  off — apparently 
through  Robert's  occupation  with  new  interests 
in  the  Midlands — Lamb  had  been  constant  in  his 
friendship. 

Of  Robert's  visits  to  London  we  read  much  in 
his  letters  to  his  wife.  "My  head,"  he  tells  her 
in  his  first  letter,  dated  March  1809,  "has  been 
in  a  perpetual  whirl  since  I  came  here,  and  in  two 
days  I  have  lived  many  weeks."  He  mentions 


ROBERT   LLOYD    AND    LAMB       171 

visits  to  the  Horse  Guards,  "to  hear  the  band 
play  while  they  mounted  Guard,"  to  Mr.  Millar's 
the  bookseller  in  Albemarle  Street,  "where  we 
.had  a  complete  treat,"  to  the  London  Institute, 
and  to  the  House  of  Commons,  seeing  "The 
place  where  Fox  and  Pitt  sat  occasioned  most 
lively  emotions,"  but  an  invitation  to  dinner  with 
Lamb  prevented  a  visit  while  the  House  was 
sitting.  Robert  the  same  evening  went  to  supper 
with  Godwin  and  his  wife,  Mary  Wollstonecraft. 
"Godwin,"  he  writes,  " is  a  bookseller.  .  .  ."  He 
appears  to  have  been  delighted  to  find  that  a  man 
of  such  literary  eminence  as  Godwin  was  of  the 
same  trade  as  himself — for  Robert  by  this  time 
had  settled  down  in  Birmingham  as  a  printer  and 
bookseller. 

He  went  to  the  Opera,  to  Covent  Garden  new 
Theatre  to  see  Kemble  and  Mrs.  Siddons  in 
Macbeth.  "Pray  dispatch  me,"  he  requests  his 
wife,  "from  the  Dog  Inn  at  seven  O'clock  in  the 
evening,  2  pair  of  White  Silk  stockings.  I  must 
go  smart  to  the  Opera — I  have  ordered  a  pair  of 
dress-clothes  in  London."  Mention  is  made,  in 
these  and  subsequent  letters,  of  visits  to  his  Uncle 
John  (who  was  a  partner  in  the  London  banking 
firm  of  Barclay  &  Lloyd),  of  a  meeting  with 
Wordsworth  (evidently  Christopher),  who  "gave  a 
very  poor  account  of  Priscilla,"  i.e.  of  her  health  ; 
of  a  public  meeting  at  Guildhall ;  and  of  introduc- 
tions to  celebrities  in  various  walks  of  life.  His 
delight  in  the  friendship  of  Charles  and  Mary 
Lamb  seems  to  have  reached  its  highest  point. 

"  I  spent  yesterday  (April  2nd)  with  Lamb  and 
his  sister — it  is  sweetly  gratifying  to  see  them  ; 
if  I  may  use  the  expression,  their  union  of  affec- 
tion is  what  we  conceive  of  marriage  in  Heaven. 
They  are  the  World  one  to  the  other.  They 


1 72     THE   LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

together  are  writing  a  book  of  poetry  for  children. 
Lamb  and  I  amused  ourselves  in  the  afternoon 
by  reading  the  manuscripts — I  shall  send  one  or 
two  of  the  pieces  in  my  next.  Lamb  is  the  most 
original  being  you  can  conceive,  and  suited  to 
me,  in  some  of  his  habits,  or  ways  of  thinking, 
to  a  tee."  This  letter  seems  to  mark  the  end 
of  the  visit  to  London,  the  record  of  sight- 
seeing ending  with  "  the  London  Institute,  the 
European  Gallery  (a  most  splendid  collection  of 
pictures  and  paintings),  Miss  Linwood's  needle- 
work (grand  indeed),  and  the  Panorama  of 
Grand  Cairo." 

As  far  as  is  now  known,  this  was  the  last 
occasion  on  which  Robert  saw  his  friends  in 
London.  The  early  months  of  1810  were  months 
of  troubles  and  anxiety  to  him.  The  Birming- 
ham business  of  Knott  &  Lloyd,  booksellers  and 
printers,  successors  to  Thomas  Aris  of  Ariss 
Gazette,  in  which  he  was  a  partner,  was  not 
proving  profitable.1  Following  upon  this  financial 
worry  came  a  succession  of  family  trials  and 
sorrows,  for  Thomas,  his  next  eldest  brother,  who 
was  a  merchant  in  Birmingham,  died  on  September 
12,  1811,  in  his  thirty-second  year.  Robert  had 
tenderly  watched  him  during  his  illness,  and  felt 
the  loss  most  deeply.  Other  bereavements  fell 
upon  the  banker's  family.  Little  more  than  a 
month  later,  Robert  lost  his  sister  Caroline,  who 
died  on  October  15,  in  her  twenty-second  year. 

Sympathetic  and  sensitive  in  the  highest  degree, 
Robert  Lloyd  broke  down  under  these  repeated 
blows.  On  October  26,  1811,  eleven  days  after 
the  death  of  his  sister,  he  passed  away,  not  having 
completed  his  thirty-third  year. 

1  The  business  exists  to-day  under  the  name  of  Hall  &  English.     Some 
old  invoices  of  Robert  Lloyd's  time  are  still  preserved. 


ROBERT   LLOYD    AND    LAMB       173 

Robert  Lloyd,  notwithstanding-  his  early  death, 
had  lived  long  enough  to  prove  to  his  friends  that 
their  patience  with  him  in  his  youthful  wayward- 
ness had  not  been  thankless,  and  that  their  belief  in 
the  existence  of  nobler  and  finer  qualities  had  not 
been  mistaken.  He  left  a  widow  with  one  son 
and  three  daughters. 

Many  touching  tributes  were  paid  to  his 
memory.  One  whose  friendship  had  been  at  once 
a  distinction  and  a  boon,  and  whose  faith  in  him 
had  been  his  stay  during  the  critical  period  of  his 
youth,  was  among  the  first  to  give  public  testi- 
mony to  his  worth.  Lamb's  memoir  of  Robert 
Lloyd  appeared  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  for 
November  1811.  It  had  been  shortened  by  the 
editor,  but  it  was  sent  to  the  widow  in  full. 
"Such,"  wrote  Lloyd  (the  poet),  "is  the  beautiful 
and  appropriate  account  sent  to  the  Gentleman  s 
Magazine  by  dear  Charles  Lamb,  who,  if  I  lov'd 
him  for  nothing  else,  I  should  now  love  for  the 
affecting  interest  that  he  has  taken  in  the  memory 
of  my  dearest  Brother  and  Friend.  C.  Lamb  sent 
me  the  written  copy  himself. 

"  The  following  is  an  extract  from  it  : — 

"  'To  dilate  in  many  words  upon  the  character  of  R.  LI. 
would  be  to  violate  the  modest  regard  due  to  his  memory, 
who,  in  his  lifetime,  shrank  so  anxiously  from  every  species 
of  notice.  His  constitutional  misfortune  was  an  excess  of 
nervous  sensibility  which,  in  the  purest  of  hearts,  produced 
rather  too  great  a  spirit  of  self-abasement,  a  perpetual  ap- 
prehension of  not  doing  what  was  right.  Yet,  beyond  this 
tenderness,  he  seemed  absolutely  to  have  no  self-regard  at 
all.  His  eye  was  single,  and  ever  fixed  upon  that  form  of 
goodness  which  he  worshipped  wherever  he  found  it,  except 
in  himself.  What  he  was  to  his  parents  and  in  his  family  the 
newness  of  their  sorrow  may  make  it  unseasonable  to  touch 
on;  his  loss,  alas!  was  but  one  in  a  complication  of  afflic- 
tions which  have  fallen  so  heavy  of  late  upon  a  worthy  house. 


174     THE   LEOYDS   OF    BIRMINGHAM 

But  as  a  Friend,  the  writer  of  this  memorial  can  witness, 
that  what  he  once  esteemed  and  loved,  it  was  an  unalterable 
law  of  his  nature  to  continue  to  esteem  and  love.  .  .  . 

"  '  To  conclude  : 

Love,  Sweetness,  Goodness,  in  his  countenance  shin'd 
So  clear,  as  in  no  face  with  more  delight.' " 

Robert  Lloyd's  father  wrote  of  him  :  "  I  con- 
template his  character  as  the  most  sweet  and 
affecting  that  I  ever  knew." 

Those  who  may  wish  to  see  Lamb's  letters  to 
Robert  Lloyd  in  full  will  find  them  in  a  book  which 
has  interested  very  many,  Charles  Lamb  and  the 
Lloyds,  and  also  in  Messrs.  Macmillan's  edition  of 
Lamb's  Letters. 


CHAPTER   XVI 

ANNA   BRAITHWAITE 

The  Edgbaston  Street  home— A  house  without  gossip— Charles  Lloyd's 
letters  to  his  daughter— An  opponent  of  Elias  Hicks — Dr.  Edwards 
recalls  his  youth — An  American  mutiny — Harriet  Beecher  Stowe 
at  "Farm"— The  late  Joseph  Bevan  Braithwaite 

ANNA  LLOYD,  the  youngest  but  two  of  the 
daughters  of  Charles  Lloyd  the  banker,  occupies 
a  prominent  position  in  the  history  of  the  Society 
of  Friends,  not  only  by  her  labours  in  America, 
but  also  as  being  the  mother  of  a  prominent 
member  of  the  Society — the  late  Joseph  Bevan 
Braithwaite.  On  this  account,  as  well  as  for  the 
light  she  throws  upon  the  characters  of  some 
other  members  of  the  family,  some  extracts  from 
the  memoirs  of  her  which  have  been  preserved 
will  be  of  interest. 

Anna  was  born  on  December  27,  1788,  and 
was  married  on  March  16,  1808,  to  Isaac  Braith- 
waite of  Kendal.  The  circle  in  which  she  had 
moved  previous  to  her  marriage  was  well  calculated 
to  promote  enlargement  of  mind  and  habits  of 
widespread  sympathy ;  for  not  only  her  parents, 
but  also  her  brothers  and  sisters  were  exception- 
ally gifted  people  with  unusual  intellectual  powers. 
Her  early  home,  until  she  was  eight  years  of  age, 
was  at  the  house  in  Edgbaston  Street ;  the  family 
then  moved  to  Bingley  Hall,  which,  as  I  have  said, 
in  those  days  was  called  Bingley  House. 

175 


176     THE   L'LOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

She  thus  records  some  recollections  of  her  early 
years  : — 

41 1  was  born  in  Edgbaston  Street,  Birmingham.  It  was 
not  until  the  death  of  our  reverend  grandmother,  Priscilla 
Farmer  (in  1796),  that  we  removed  to  her  residence,  Bingley 
House,  near  the  Town.  Although  my  grandmother  died  when 
I  was  little  more  than  seven  years  old,  her  countenance  and 
figure  are  vividly  remembered.  She  always  sent  her  carriage 
(to  our  house  in  Edgbaston  Street)  for  my  Mother  and  the 
'  little  ones,'  of  whom  I  was  one,  on  sixth  days,  which  we 
spent  with  her.  .  .  .  My  grandmother  had  been  fond  of  gay 
life  when  young;  and  had  had  great  zest  in  attending  the 
theatre.  This  continued  many  years  after  my  mother's  birth, 
which  took  place  ten  years  after  their  marriage.  (She  was 
their  only  child.) 

"  One  thing  must  not  be  omitted.  Never  do  I  remember 
at  Bingley  in  my  Grandmother's  time,  nor  afterwards  on  the 
part  of  my  father,  unkind  remarks  about  any  one.  Personal 
conversation  in  the  way  of  gossip  was  unknown.  Their 
richly  stored  minds  never  lacked  subjects  which  were  in- 
structive and  adapted  to  every  variety  of  character;  and  they 
habitually  endeavoured  to  find  the  right  key  to  open  the 
hearts  and  minds  of  their  visitors.  It  was  an  axiom  with 
them  that  in  this  way  we  may  learn  something  from  every 
one." 

In  Charles  Lloyd  the  poet's  volume  of  sonnets 
to  the  memory  of  Priscilla  Farmer  these  visits  of 
the  children  to  her  are  very  prettily,  if  at  this  date 
somewhat  artificially,  commemorated. 

In  his  daughter  Anna  her  father  evidently 
delighted,  as  one  who,  unlike  his  sons  Charles  and 
Robert,  was  in  full  sympathy  with  his  religious  and 
philanthropic  aspirations.  One  of  the  letters  he 
wrote  to  her  while  she  was  visiting  friends  in  America 
has  been  preserved  : — 

"  BINGLEY,  6tk  of  gift  mo :  1823. 

"My  spirit  is  often  with  thee,  my  dear  daughter,  in 
sympathy  with  thee  in  thy  service  for  thy  Lord  and  Master. 
I  well  know  that  those  who  are  deeply  baptized  have  often 


ANNA    BRAITHWAITE  177 

much  to  undergo.  They  can  feel  the  truth  of  Paul's  expres- 
sion, '  as  sorrowful,  yet  always  rejoicing ;  as  poor,  yet  making 
many  rich ;  as  having  nothing,  and  yet  possessing  all  things.' 
This  comprises  a  great  deal  in  a  few  words.  With  the  latter 
part,  'as  having  nothing,  and  yet  possessing  all  things/  I 
am  particularly  impressed.  It  is  in  this  state  of  nothingness, 
when  self  is  of  no  reputation,  that  we  are  among  those  to 
whom  our  Saviour's  words  are  applicable,  '  Blessed  are  the 
poor  in  spirit,  for  theirs  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.'  In  this 
state,  how  tender  we  are  in  noticing  the  weaknesses  of  others, 
and  how  do  our  minds  expand  in  love,  so  that  though  we 
are  poor  we  may  make  many  rich,  and  though  we  may  have 
but  little  to  say,  this  little  from  a  deeply  baptized  spirit  will 
comfort  far  more  than  many  words  spoken  without  life.  Our 
meetings  often  suffer  from  a  multitude  of  words.  I  do  like 
to  feel  a  gathering  influence.  This  is  sometimes  lost,  when 
testimonies  and  especially  prayers  are  too  long. 

"  How  I  shall  rejoice  to  see  thee  return  in  health  and 
peace !  My  mind  has  rested  and  still  rests  in  the  faith  that 
the  Divine  blessing  is  over  thee. 

"Farewell,  my  very  dear  daughter.  May  every  comfort 
attend  thee." 

Anna  Braithwaite  had  become  a  minister  of  the 
Society  of  Friends  in  England,  but  felt  impelled, 
as  we  have  seen,  to  visit  America.  The  object  of 
her  visit  was  to  confront  the  teachings  of  Elias 
Hicks,  of  whom  something  has  been  said  in  another 
chapter.  Anna  Braithwaite,  like  Mr.  Crewdson  of 
Manchester,  the  author  of  the  book  mentioned  in 
chapter  xvii.,  considered  Elias  Hicks's  religious 
views  deplorably  unscriptural,  as  did  most  of  the 
Friends  amongst  whom  she  had  moved  in  Eng- 
land, and  she  could  not  rest  without  proceeding  to 
America  to  preach  what  she  believed  to  be  the 
truth. 

Of  one  of  Anna  Braithwaite's  visits  to  America 
an  interesting  recollection  was  preserved  by  Dr. 
John  E.  Edwards,  who  received  the  rudiments  of 
his  education  at  the  Friends'  School  at  New  Garden, 

M 


178     THE   LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

and  afterwards  became  a  Presbyterian  minister. 
In  a  notice  in  the  New  York  Illustrated  Christian 
Weekly  for  April  5,  1879,  Dr.  Edwards  thus  re- 
calls some  of  the  scenes  of  his  early  boyhood  : — 

"  How  vividly  all  these  scenes  take  form  on  the  canvas 
of  memory.  Many  a  dear  old  remembered  spot  stands  out 
conspicuously  to  the  backward  glance!  Anna  Braithwaite 
came  from  England  to  attend  the  Yearly  Meeting  not  less 
than  fifty  years  ago.  It  is  the  first  day  of  the  week.  The 
highways  and  byways  are  thronged  with  the  people  on  the 
way  to  New  Garden.  It  is  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  the  Friends. 
What  a  crowd  has  assembled  and  is  assembling.  They  come 
from  all  quarters,  by  all  sorts  of  conveyances.  Every  panel 
of  the  fence  has  a  horse  '  hitched '  to  it.  Every  branch  on 
every  accessible  tree  has  a  bridle  tied  to  it.  Carryalls  and 
gigs,  carts  and  wagons  of  every  description  are  crowded 
together  on  every  hand.  The  Meeting-house  is  already  filled 
to  its  utmost  capacity ;  and  males  and  females  sitting  apart. 
Hundreds  are  outside;  but  everywhere  a  Quaker  silence 
pervades  the  multitudinous  crowd. 

"Within,  silence  reigns.  A  little  rustle  is  heard.  The 
softly  modulated  and  sweet-toned  voice  of  Anna  Braithwaite 
is  rising  in  prayer.  It  is  heard  all  over  the  assembly.  That 
voice  grows  stronger  and  fuller  in  its  compass,  and  rings 
in  the  closely  ceiled  house.  What  fervour,  what  subdued 
earnestness,  what  pathos !  She  prays  that  war  and  blood- 
shed may  speedily  come  to  a  perpetual  end ;  that  nation 
may  cease  to  lift  up  sword  against  nation;  that  national 
differences  may  be  settled  by  peaceable  arbitration;  and 
that  the  time  may  soon  come  when  war  shall  be  heard  of 
no  more.  She  prays  that  the  slave  trade  may  be  abolished, 
and  that  slavery  may  not  only  be  mitigated  in  its  horrors, 
but  for  ever  banished  from  the  earth.  She  closes  her  prayer, 
and  silence  again  pervades  the  house. 

"Presently  she  unties  the  white  ribbon  under  her  chin, 
and  lays  aside  her  bonnet,  and  rises  to  her  feet.  A  neat 
and  tidy  cap,  as  plain  as  plain  can  be,  without  frill  or  other 
appendage,  fitting  closely  over  her  smoothly  dressed  hair, 
and  pinned  under  her  chin,  is  the  only  ornament.  Her  hands 
are  ungloved  and  as  white  as  marble.  Serenity  marks  her 
sweetly  composed  face.  A  sort  of  heavenly  light  kindles 


ANNA    BRAITHWAITE  179 

on  her  radiant  brow.  Her  lips  part,  and  that  sweetly 
modulated  voice  again  fills  the  house,  as  she  repeats  a  pas- 
sage from  the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  the  beloved  disciple.  The 
cadenza  of  a  mellow-throated  bird  in  the  ringing  forest  could 
not  have  been  softer  or  sweeter  than  the  musical  tones  of 
that  silvery  voice  as  it  rose  and  fell  in  measured  cadence. 
Every  ear  bent  in  rapt  attention;  every  heart  in  sympathy 
with  the  speaker. 

" '  Peace  on  earth,  goodwill  towards  men,'  is  her  topic. 
She  warms  with  her  theme,  and  grows  more  and  more 
eloquent  as  she  advances  in  her  discourse.  An  hour  has 
elapsed  since  that  sweet-faced  woman  arose,  and  still  the 
listening  crowd  hang  breathlessly  on  her  lips.  Many  an 
eye  is  moistened  with  tears.  Here  and  there  heads  are 
bowed.  And  still  with  glowing  diction,  clothing  her  beautiful 
and  touching  thoughts,  Anna  Braithwaite  continues,  until, 
overpowered  with  her  emotions, — 'tears  in  her  voice,'  she 
quietly  resumes  her  seat,  while  a  positively  awful  silence 
pervades  the  house,  and  reigns  unbroken  over  the  scene." 

In  a  letter  Anna  wrote  to  her  father  from  Virginia 
in  1823  she  says  : — 

"To  see  what  we  have  seen  the  last  few  days  ought 
surely  to  be  sufficient  to  convince  the  strongest  advocate  of 
slavery  that  the  system  is  injurious.  ...  In  Virginia,  the 
slave  owners  rear  slaves  for  sale  in  other  States,  and  keep 
as  few  as  they  can  for  themselves.  The  land  appears,  so 
far,  poor  and  badly  cultivated.  No  one,  observing  the  alac- 
rity of  the  black  children  in  anticipating  our  wants,  and  the 
readiness  in  performing  various  services,  could  for  a  moment 
imagine  them  endowed  with  inferior  capacities.  An  agreeable 
young  man,  who  has  been  with  us  several  times,  a  resident 
in  the  town,  told  us  that  he  has  a  black  girl  about  ten  years 
of  age,  who  attends  to  his  children.  She  has  taught  herself 
to  read,  by  being  with  them  and  making  use  of  their  books; 
and  he  scarcely  ever  sees  her,  even  rocking  the  cradle,  with- 
out a  book  in  her  hand.  He  fully  believes  they  have  great 
facility  in  acquiring  knowledge.  This  is  also  exemplified 
in  the  schools  for.  coloured  children  in  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania." 

The  practice  above  alluded  to  of  rearing  slaves  like 
cattle  for  sale  occasioned  such  a  revolt  of  public 


i8o     THE   LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

feeling  against  it  that  it  hastened  the  downfall  of 
slavery  in  the  United  States. 

At  a  very  early  date  the  Society  of  Friends 
made  it  a  rule  for  their  members  not  to  keep  slaves, 
and  as  early  as  1780  there  was  not  a  single  slave 
owned  by  any  member  of  the  Society,  with  its 
knowledge  and  consent,  in  America  or  England. 
Having  freed  themselves  from  the  guilt  of  slavery, 
in  1783  they  petitioned  the  House  of  Commons  to 
abolish  the  slave  trade  and  slavery.  This  was  the 
first  petition  on  the  subject  presented  to  the  House 
of  Commons,  and  in  the  great  struggle  which  now 
commenced,  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends 
occupied  the  most  important  position  till,  in  1833, 
slavery  was  abolished  in  all  the  British  possessions. 
But  no  reader  of  Uncle  Tom  s  Cabin  will  need  to 
be  told  this.  And  here  I  might  remark  that  Mrs. 
Harriet  Beecher  Stowe,  the  author  of  that  book, 
came  to  "  Farm  "  in  1853  to  see  mv  grandmother, 
Rachel  Lloyd,  who  was  also  passionately  an 
abolitionist,  and  a  short  description  of  the  visit 
will  be  found  in  her  Sunny  Memories. 

Anna  Braithwaite  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  America 
three  times  on  her  missions  of  love  to  the  meetings 
of  the  Society  of  Friends  in  that  land.  This  in- 
volved many  weeks  on  the  sea,  often  in  stormy 
weather,  tedious  and  frequently  dangerous  journeys 
on  land,  and  long  separations  from  her  most  affec- 
tionate husband  and  young  children  ;  but  all  was 
cheerfully  endured  by  this  heroic  Christian  woman. 

She  was  much  beloved  in  England,  and  her 
ministry  was  greatly  valued.  Her  health  was  never 
strong,  but  a  peaceful  evening  of  life  was  granted 
her.  She  died  in  1859,  aged  seventy-one. 

An  interesting  memoir,  chiefly  compiled  from 
her  letters  and  journals,  was  written  by  the  youngest 
of  her  three  sons,  Joseph  Bevan  Braithwaite,  who 


ANNA   BRAITHWAITE  181 

was  born  at  Kendal  in  1818,  and  inherited  many  of 
the  intellectual  abilities  of  his  grandfather,  Charles 
Lloyd.  This  remarkable  man,  who  left  school 
before  he  was  sixteen,  afterwards  continued  his 
studies  in  Greek  and  Latin  with  such  zeal  and  suc- 
cess that  his  uncle,  Bishop  Wordsworth,  believed 
him  to  be  unsurpassed  by  any  one  at  the  time  in 
his  knowledge  of  these  languages.  At  the  same 
time  he  taught  himself  Hebrew,  in  which  he  became 
very  proficient.  He  was  called  to  the  Bar  at  the 
Middle  Temple  in  1843,  and  for  long  rose  at  four 
or  five  in  the  morning  to  continue  his  classical 
and  Biblical  studies  before  the  business  of  the  day 
commenced.  He  paid  occasional  visits  to  "  Farm  " 
until  the  year  1895.  Joining  the  committee  of  the 
Bible  Society,  he  was  for  many  years  chairman  of 
their  translation  committee,  on  which  his  classical 
attainments  were  much  appreciated.  He  died  in 
November  1905. 


CHAPTER   XVII 

THE   FIRST   SAMUEL    LLOYD 

George  Braithwaite  Lloyd's  parentage— My  grandfather  and  his  coach- 
man— The  first  head  of  a  Lloyd  family  to  leave  the  Friends — Elias 
Hicks  and  his  influence  — Isaac  Crewdson's  counterblast  — Mr. 
Beverley  at  "Farm" — George  Stacey — Quaker  Conservatives — 
And  the  new  spirit — Quaker  dress — Samuel  Bowley's  beard 

MY  grandfather,  the  first  of  the  Lloyds  to  bear  the 
name  of  Samuel,  was  so  named  after  his  maternal 
grandfather,  Samuel  Barnes  of  London.  He  was 
born  in  1768,  and  married,  in  October  1791,  Rachel, 
eldest  daughter  of  George  and  Deborah  Braithwaite 
of  Kendal.  They  both  were  twenty-three  at  the 
time.  They  began  their  married  life  in  the  Old 
Square,  removing  afterwards  to  a  larger  house 
in  the  Crescent,  which  had  become  the  fashionable 
part  of  the  town,  where  they  lived  till  the  death  of 
their  father  (the  third  Sampson  Lloyd)  in  1807, 
when  they  moved  to  "Farm."  Twelve  children 
were  born  to  them,  and  their  eldest  son  having  died 
in  infancy,  they  gave  the  name  George  Braithwaite 
to  the  next,  who,  in  his  time,  became  the  father  of 
two  sons  still  so  well  remembered  in  Birmingham — 
Sampson  Samuel  Lloyd  and  George  Braithwaite 
Lloyd,  of  whom  I  have  given  many  reminiscences 
in  chapter  ix. 

At  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  busi- 
ness of  the  bank  had  become  so  extensive  and 
important  that  it  was  thought  undesirable  for  any 
acting  partner  to  be  associated  with  the  manage- 
ment of  any  other  business.  The  first  Samuel 


182 


THE   FIRST   SAMUEL   LLOYD      183 

Lloyd  therefore  devoted  himself  solely  to  its  affairs. 
He  was  a  man  greatly  respected  in  Birmingham — 
serious,  scholarly,  and  very  fond  of  his  home-life. 
He  took  great  interest  in  the  flowers  and  fruit  of 
u  Farm,"  and  exercised  wide  hospitality  there. 

One  of  the  third  Sampson  Lloyd's  daughters 
married  an  Irish  gentleman  named  Phelps,  and  a 
son  was  born  to  them  at  "  Farm  "  in  1803  who  was 
named  Joseph  Lloyd  Phelps.  He  lived  at  Yardley 
near  Birmingham,  and  every  now  and  then  when  a 
Lloyd  relative  died  he  found  that  £100  was  left  to 
him  in  the  will,  which,  as  he  was  out  of  business, 
was  very  acceptable.  I  mention  him  here  to  intro- 
duce a  characteristic  anecdote ;  for  he  told  me 
that  when  the  first  Samuel  Lloyd's  coachman, 
"  Reynolds,"  became  possessed  of  property  which 
gave  him  a  vote,  he  opposed  his  master  politically, 
but  it  made  no  difference  in  their  friendly  relations  ; 
Samuel  Lloyd's  widow  left  him  ^300  in  recognition 
of  his  long  and  faithful  services. 

My  grandfather  was  the  first  head  of  any  family 
of  Birmingham  Lloyds  to  leave  the  Society  of 
Friends.  His  severance  was  gradual  but  complete, 
and  it  began,  as  had  that  of  many  other  seceders, 
in  the  example  of  Elias  Hicks,  a  gifted  minister 
of  the  Society  in  America,  who,  having  embraced 
views  of  a  Unitarian  tendency,  proclaimed  them  so 
convincingly  in  his  sermons  that  many  Friends  in 
Philadelphia  accepted  his  doctrine  and  joined  him, 
thus  causing  a  schism  in  the  Society.  His  followers 
are  termed  Hicksite  Friends,  wrhile  those  adhering 
to  the  views  previously  held  are  known  as  Orthodox 
Friends. 

This  schism  in  America  was  followed  by  one 
in  England,  although  Isaac  Crewdson  of  Man- 
chester, my  grandfather's  first  cousin,  did  all  he 
could  to  check  it  in  a  book  entitled  A  Beacon  to 


1 84     THE    LLOYDS   OF    BIRMINGHAM 

the  Society  of  Friends^  published  in  1835.  This 
book,  which  contained  extracts  from  the  writings  of 
Elias  Hicks,  and  in  opposition  to  them  passages 
from  the  Scriptures  of  a  contrary  tendency,  was 
studied  with  deep  interest  by  my  grandfather, 
whose  mind,  I  should  say,  was  not  wholly  unpre- 
pared for  a  change  of  religious  belief,  a  new  sect,  the 
Plymouth  Brethren,  having  already  attracted  his 
questioning  notice.  It  is  unnecessary  here  to  state 
the  tenets  of  the  Brethren,  as  they  are  called,  beyond 
saying  that  their  conception  of  the  spiritual  life 
is  not  very  different  from  that  of  strict  Friends,  but 
that  they  add  certain  sacramental  ceremonies  foreign 
to  the  teaching  of  George  Fox. 

Samuel  Lloyd's  natural  desire  to  know  more  of 
this  new  creed  was  increased  by  the  circumstance 
that  his  lovely  daughter  Rachel  had  married  Robert 
Howard,  a  Plymouth  Brother,  and  in  1835  several 
of  the  Brethren  visited  "  Farm,"  as  we  read  in  the 
diary  of  Mr.  Beverley,  who  was  among  them  : — 

"  Tuesday,  April  jilt,  1835.— Dined  at  'Farm,'  at  Mr.  Lloyd's 
the  Quaker  and  Banker,  where  I  dined  once  before  :  an  agree- 
able day  :  the  conversation  not  trifling.  I  had  much  conversa- 
tion with  Mr.  Lloyd,  apart  from  the  rest.  I  find  his  views  of 
the  gospel  not  in  the  slightest  degree  tinged  with  mysticism. 
He  is  of  the  Evangelical,  the  modern  school  of  Quakerism. 
Drank  tea  with  Joseph  Sturge ;  the  family  of  the  Lloyds  from 
'  Farm '  were  of  the  party.  I  talked  with  Mr.  Lloyd  the  whole 
evening.  The  more  I  converse  with  this  good  old  man,  the 
more  I  respect  and  love  him.  I  believe  him  to  be  a  sincere 
Christian,  and  I  know  he  is  an  honourable  man  and  a  most 
kind  father  and  friend." 

This    Mr.     Beverley    was    a    clever,     intellectual, 
critical  man,   and   his  visit  to    "Farm"   doubtless 
helped    forward    the    change   which    was    to    take 
place  in  my  grandfather's  religious  convictions. 
At  last,  five  years  after  the  publication  of  The 


THE    FIRST    SAMUEL   LLOYD     185 

Beacon,  and  after  much  thoughtful  consideration 
and  many  conversations  with  leading  "  Brethren" 
and  with  his  son-in-law,  Samuel  Lloyd  sent  in  his  re- 
signation to  the  Society  of  Friends.  It  was  dated 
February  12,  1840.  R.  T.  Cadbury  and  T.  Southall 
were — after  the  usage  of  the  Society,  who  lose  their 
members  with  reluctance  and  sorrow — appointed 
to  visit  my  grandfather  and  make  sure  that  his 
mind  was  clear  and  decided.  The  step,  however, 
was  irrevocable  ;  and  my  grandfather  joined  the 
Brethren.  He  continued  one  of  them  to  the  end  ; 
but  although  I  was  with  him  almost  every  week 
during  the  ensuing  nine  years,  I  never  heard  him 
say  a  word  in  favour  of  any  of  the  family  following 
his  example.  His  wife  remained  a  Friend.  My 
father  also  remained  a  Friend,  being  known  as 
"Quaker"  Lloyd.  I  left  Friends  for  some  years, 
but  in  1892  I  rejoined  them. 

It  has  been  suggested  since  that  if  those  Friends 
in  authority  at  the  time  could  have  tolerated  evan- 
gelical views  not  held  or  expressed  exactly  in  the 
same  groove  as  their  own,  neither  he  nor  his  cousin 
Isaac  Crewdson,  nor  others,  who  were  the  cream  of 
the  Society  of  Friends  in  Manchester,  would  have 
resigned.  They  did  not  at  first  express  any  desire 
to  leave  the  Society,  but  felt  impelled  to  do  so  rather 
than  not  obey  their  own  religious  convictions ; 
and  as  the  breach  grew  wider  separation  became 
inevitable. 

I  recollect  that  old  Edward  Pease,  "the  Father 
of  Railways  "  as  he  was  called,  and  the  father  also 
of  my  brother-in-law,  viewed  with  extreme  mis- 
giving and  reluctance  the  secession  to  the  Brethren 
by  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  "  They  will 
come  to  naught;  they  will  come  to  naught,"  he 
said. 

The    clerk    to    the    yearly   meeting   for    some 


1 86     THE    LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

years  subsequent  to  1840  was  George  Stacey  of 
Tottenham,  who  when  a  young  man  had  felt  at- 
tracted to  pay  a  visit  to  "Farm,"  and  had  there 
fallen  in  love  with  and  married  Deborah,  my  father's 
eldest  sister.  Near  to  the  clerk  during  the  annual 
meetings  sat  Josiah  Forster,  my  father's  old  school- 
master, whom  he  greatly  revered  as  being  much  his 
superior.  I  may  here  mention  that  not  only  had 
my  father  a  very  modest  view  of  his  attainments, 
like  some  other  Lloyds  now  passed  away,  but 
he  seemed  inclined  unduly  to  depreciate  his  own 
abilities  ;  which  reminds  me  of  Matthew  Boulton 
writing  to  James  Watt  that  he  thought  they  had 
better  think  a  little  more  of  themselves. 

The  leaders  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in  1840 
were  all  religious  conservatives  against  change.  If 
they  were  to  yield  to  the  clamour  for  it,  they  might 
well  ask,  Where  were  they  to  stop  ?  The  digni- 
taries of  the  Church  of  England  at  the  present 
day  feel  the  same  difficulty  ;  if  the  Athanasian 
Creed  were  obliterated  from  the  services  of  the 
Church,  and  other  dogmas  were  regarded  as  doubt- 
ful or  obsolete,  and  no  longer  to  be  held,  what 
would  the  end  be  ? 

It  is  the  natural  wish  of  the  leaders  of  any  sect 
to  leave  things  as  they  are.  Edward  Smith  of 
Sheffield,  one  of  the  prominent  Friends  of  the  past 
generation,  told  me  that  I  should  find  the  views 
of  Friends  all  dovetailed  into  a  circle,  the  whole 
of  them  fitting  into  each  other,  thus  making  a 
complete  circle  of  truth.  When  the  members  of 
any  church  or  congregation  have  arrived  at  the 
certain  conviction  that  what  they  unitedly  believe 
is  really  the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing 
but  the  truth,  it  results  in  great  unity.  This  was 
so  conspicuous  in  early  Christian  days,  and  also 
among  the  early  Friends  in  the  midst  of  their 


THE   FIRST   SAMUEL    LLOYD     187 

sufferings,    that  it   was  said,    "  Behold   how  these 
Christians  love  one  another  !  " 

Extremes  are  said  to  meet  ;  and  Friends  are 
not  alone  in  favouring  the  preaching  of  those  who 
have  a  gift  leaving  the  others  to  worship  in  silence, 
for  in  the  Catholic  Church  those  priests  who  have 
no  gift  are  not  expected  to  preach  every  Sunday,  as 
in  the  Church  of  England,  but  only  those  who  can 
do  so  to  manifest  edification  ;  and  worshippers  in 
their  chapels  are  seen  worshipping  in  silence  as  in 
a  Friends'  Meeting. 

Members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  like  those 
of  other  religious  societies,  have  their  favourite 
ministers.  The  second  Samuel  Lloyd's  favourite 
minister,  par  excellence,  was  Stephen  Grellet.  He 
was  a  Frenchman  who  had  lived  in  America  and 
then  settled  in  England.  In  1831  on  one  occasion 
he  preached  at  Chelmsford,  and  the  newspaper 
report  of  it  said  his  address  lasted  "two  hours 
and  a  half,"  and  that  the  spacious  meeting-house 
was  crowded  with  "  persons  not  belonging  to  the 
fraternity." 

Though  the  Friends'  basis  of  worship  is  silent 
waiting  upon  God,  all  are  encouraged  to  feel  that 
they  have  an  important  part  in  the  service — by  their 
secret  prayers,  not  only  for  themselves,  but  for  those 
who  meet  with  them.  Regarding  Christ  as  the 
Head  of  their  Church,  they  look  to  Him  to  prepare 
some  of  those  present  to  take  part  in  vocal  prayer 
and  preaching. 

In  Friends'  meetings  singing  is  now  permitted 
or  tolerated,  and  public  announcements  are  now 
made  stating  that  such  and  such  a  minister  will 
deliver  an  address — a  complete  surrender  of  the 
old  belief  in  sudden  and  unexpected  promptings  of 
the  Spirit.  These  changes  alone  show  how  much 
the  Friends  have  become  modernised.  Few  Friends 


1 88     THE   LLOYDS   OF   BIRMINGHAM 

any  longer  wear  a  distinctive  dress  or  use  the 
second  person  singular  in  conversation ;  and  the 
whole  tendency  is  to  merge  Friends  completely 
with  other  Christian  people. 

The  Friends  about  half  a  century  ago  were 
very  rigid  in  keeping  to  their  Quakerly  dress,  and 
when  George  Stacey,  my  uncle,  who,  as  I  have 
said,  was  clerk  to  the  Friends'  yearly  meeting, 
came  back  from  America  wearing  trousers  instead 
of  knee-breeches,  the  Friends  of  Banbury,  whom 
he  happened  to  visit  on  his  return,  alarmed  at 
seeing  such  a  change  of  attire,  were  afraid  that 
he  had  altogether  fallen  away. 

The  old  Friends  were  also  expected  to  shave, 
a  point  on  which  the  Bishop  of  Oxford  also  held 
strong  views.  He  tolerated  a  clergyman  wearing  a 
moustache,  if  he  had  a  beard,  but  forbade  a  clergy- 
man going  into  the  pulpit  with  moustache  only. 
The  Duke  of  Wellington's  orders  to  his  troops  with 
regard  to  shaving  did  not  permit  the  whiskers  to 
descend  beyond  the  line  of  the  nose,  and  my  father 
having  adopted  this  regulation  when  a  young  man, 
adhered  to  it  to  the  end  of  his  life.  One  minister 
of  the  Society,  Samuel  Bowley  of  Gloucester, 
ceased  to  shave  altogether,  and  let  both  his  beard 
and  moustache  grow.  Such  a  departure  from  ortho- 
doxy amazed  some  Friends,  who  expected  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  to  depart  from  him  ;  but  my 
father  hearing  him  preach  afterwards,  said  that  this 
was  manifestly  not  so,  as  he  spoke  as  spiritually 
and  as  much  to  edification  as  he  had  done  before. 
Samuel  Bowley  explained  afterwards  that  he  had 
been  obliged  to  give  up  shaving  as  his  hand  shook 
too  much  for  him  to  be  able  any  longer  to  attempt 
it.  His  example  gave  courage  to  others;  and  so 
another  piece  of  latitudinarianism  crept  in. 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

THE    LLOYDS   AND   WEDNESBURY 

The  Wednesbury  mines  —  Richard  Parkes'  bargain  —  Lord  Eldon's 
delays — The  Quaker  and  the  motto — Pumping-engines  invented — 
"Squire"  Wilkinson  —  Excursions  to  Wednesbury  —  The  beacon- 
fires  —  The  "  Clippers  "  —  Wednesbury  in  my  early  days  —  Cock- 
fighting— My  father,  "  Quaker  "  Lloyd— A  tall  family— The  Friends 
and  tithes — Nonconformity  at  the  present  day — Lloyds,  Fosters  and 
Co. — The  Blackfriars  Bridge  and  financial  difficulty — Lessons  from 
adversity — A  truly  generous  man — The  Lloyds  and  iron — Famous 
ironmasters — The  Bible  in  Spain — The  end 

OF  the  two  principal  branches  of  the  Lloyd  family 
banking  and  iron  have  been  the  mainstay.  But 
iron  came  first.  The  branch  to  which  I  belong  is 
still  true  to  iron,  and  for  many  years  I  lived  at 
Wednesbury,  where  the  business  was  centred.  I 
did  not  move  to  "  Farm  "  until  1870.  The  story  of 
the  Lloyds'  association  with  the  Wednesbury  mines 
is,  I  think,  not  without  interest. 

We  can  now  scarcely  realise  that  it  was  not 
until  a  century  and  a  quarter  ago,  when  the  in- 
ventive genius  of  James  Watt  had  been  directed 
to  the  subject,  that  steam  as  a  motive  power 
became  available  to  assist  and  supply  the  wants 
of  the  human  race.  In  the  seventeenth  century 
the  Marquis  of  Worcester  made  experiments.  He 
burst  a  cannon  by  imprisoning  steam  within  it, 
proving,  as  he  said,  that  there  was  power  in  steam, 
and  he  patented  what  he  termed  a  "  water  com- 
manding engine  "  ;  but  nothing  came  of  it.  Savory 
and  others  followed,  but  without  any  commercial 

success. 

189 


190     THE   LLOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 

In  the  years  1704  and  1708  the  owners  of 
several  hundred  acres  of  land  at  Wednesbury  re- 
garded the  mines,  which  existed,  if  at  all,  under 
water,  as  practically  of  no  value,  since  there  was 
no  power  known  by  which  they  could  be  rendered 
dry  and  workable.  This  was  three-quarters  of  a 
century  before  the  inventions  of  James  Watt,  who 
had  to  some  extent,  it  is  true,  been  preceded  by 
Savory,  but  the  steam-engine  of  that  pioneer 
created  in  1739  for  pumping  purposes  burst,  and 
so  did  not  effect  much  good.  The  owners  evi- 
dently thought  themselves  fortunate  in  finding  that 
our  ancestor's  relative,  Richard  Parkes,  was  will- 
ing to  purchase  and  able  to  pay  for  what  to  them 
seemed  so  valueless.  He  therefore  became  a  pur- 
chaser, and  legal  documents  were  drawn  up  and 
executed,  giving  him,  his  executors  and  assigns, 
the  right  to  get  the  minerals  during  a  term  of 
500  years. 

I  have  a  copy  of  the  deeds  so  well  and  carefully 
drawn  that  it  would  be  thought  that  the  rights  of 
Richard  Parkes  and  his  heirs  could  not  be  disputed, 
but  when,  three-quarters  of  a  century  later,  Boulton 
and  Watt's  pumping-engines  performed  such  won- 
ders in  Cornwall,  evidencing  the  possibility  of  the 
Wednesbury  mines  being  unwatered,  one  of  the 
principal  landowners  raised  the  question  whether 
the  500  years'  lease  which  his  father  had  granted 
was  binding  upon  his  successor,  alleging,  as  a 
reason,  that  the  mines  had  not  been  worked  in 
the  lifetime  of  the  landowner  who  granted  the 
lease  ;  but  it  was  proved  that  the  heirs  of  Parkes 
had  exercised  their  right  of  ownership  during  his 
life  without  their  right  having  been  contested,  so 
that  this  plea  failed  ;  moreover,  he  and  the  others 
from  whom  the  mines  were  purchased  had  received 
in  cash  as  much  as,  with  interest  and  compound 


THE  LLOYDS    AND    WEDNESBURY     191 

interest,  since  the  payments  were  made,  amounted 
to  more  than  ,£90,000.  A  Chancery  suit  to  settle 
the  question  was  commenced  in  1818  by  the  heirs 
of  Parkes  (by  a  plea  for  discovery). 

Lord  Eldon,  who  was  Lord  Chancellor  at  the 
time,  was  proverbially  very  slow  in  giving  his 
judgments  :  a  tendency  that  seemed  to  increase 
with  his  age,  and  caused  great  dissatisfaction  to 
litigants,  so  much  so  that  a  debate  once  took 
place  in  the  House  of  Lords  as  to  whether  or  not 
he  ought  to  be  censured.  In  the  heirs  of  Parkes' 
case  it  was  announced  that  he  would  give  his 
decision  on  the  following  Tuesday,  but  Tuesday 
after  Tuesday  passed  and  none  was  pronounced. 
Ultimately,  however,  the  case  was  settled  out  of 
court  in  1821. 

Lord  Eldon's  first  journey  from  Newcastle  to 
London,  when  he  was  plain  Mr.  Scott,  was  in 
May  1766,  in  a  coach  called  the  "Fly,"  "by 
reason,"  Lord  Campbell  says,  "of  what  was  then 
considered  its  rapid  travelling,  as  it  was  only  three 
nights  and  four  days  on  the  journey."  The  panel 
on  the  coach  bore  this  inscription  :  "  Dat  cito,  si  dat 
bene,"  which  made  a  great  impression  on  young 
Scott.  It  happened  that  an  old  Quaker,  who  was 
his  fellow-passenger,  when  the  coach  stopped  at 
the  inn  at  Tuxford,  called  to  a  chambermaid  to 
come  and  receive  sixpence  from  him,  telling  her 
that  he  forgot  to  give  it  her  when  he  slept  there 
two  years  before.  Scott  said,  "Friend,  hast  thou 
seen  the  motto  on  this  coach  ? "  The  Quaker 
replied  that  he  had  not.  "Then  look  at  it,"  said 
Scott,  "for  I  think  that  giving  her  only  sixpence 
now,  for  all  she  did  for  you  two  years  ago,  is 
.neither  '  dat  cito'  nor  Mat  bene.'' 

This  reminds  me  that  the  first  Samuel  Lloyd, 
once  driving  from  Walsall  to  Birmingham,  and 


1 92     THE   LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

coming  to  a  toll-gate,  found  he  had  not  got  four- 
pence,  the  amount  of  the  toll,  in  his  pocket ;  and 
so  the  next  time  he  came  he  paid  4^d.,  telling  the 
toll-keeper  the  farthing  was  for  interest. 

After  the  settlement  of  the  lawsuit  my  father 
and  partners  had  to  erect  a  suitable  pumping- 
engine,  and  they  decided  in  favour  of  the  "  Atmos- 
pheric Engine,"  which,  invented  by  Newcomen  and 
improved  by  Smeaton,  was  made  serviceable  for 
pumping  by  Watt.  It  was  accordingly  erected, 
and  I  remember  it  very  well  at  work  as  late  as 
1843-4.  It  required  only  3  Ibs.  pressure  of  steam, 
which  was  generated  in  a  balloon  boiler.  It 
successfully  drained  the  water  from  a  seam  of 
coal  eight  feet  or  more  thick,  but  the  seam 
was  not  much  more  than  twenty  yards  below  the 
surface. 

From  the  date  when  steam  power  became  avail- 
able, about  the  year  1780,  great  improvements  in 
the  manufacture  of  iron  had  been  taking  place. 
John  Wilkinson,  at  Bradley,  near  Bilston,  in  1785 
used  the  first  blast  engine  driven  by  steam  ever 
employed  in  this  or  any  other  country  in  the  manu- 
facture of  iron,  the  success  of  which  inaugurated 
a  new  era  in  the  iron  trade  of  south  Staffordshire 
and  elsewhere.  He  also  invented  machinery  for 
boring  cannon  accurately,  and  this  led  to  the  per- 
fecting of  the  steam-engine  by  James  Watt,  as  it 
enabled  him  to  get  a  steam-cylinder  made  of  iron, 
instead  of  wood  lined  with  tin,  as  previously.  The 
erection  of  one  of  Matthew  Boulton's  rolling-mills 
at  his  works  at  Bradley  was  another  great  step  in 
advance.  The  story  is  well  known  of  how  "  Squire  " 
Wilkinson  was  "  prayed  into"  building  a  "  cast- 
metal  "  meeting-house  with  an  iron  pulpit  for  the 
Methodists,  and  it  is  recorded  that  on  his  death, 
at  the  age  of  eighty-nine  years,  his  body  was  en- 


THE   LLOYDS   AND   WEDNESBURY     193 

closed  in  an  iron  coffin  and  its  final  resting-place 
was  an  iron  tomb. 

My  father,  the  second  Samuel  Lloyd,  as  already 
mentioned,  went  to  live  at  Wednesbury  in  1818, 
wrhen  he  was  twenty-three  years  of  age.  Although 
the  development  of  the  mines  had  to  await  the 
settlement  of  the  Chancery  suit  which  related  to 
the  chief  part  of  them,  there  was  much  needing 
attention.  Among  other  things  that  came  of 
neglect  he  found  some  strips  of  land  had  been  lost 
to  the  family,  owing  to  no  rent  having  been  col- 
lected for  over  twenty  years.  My  father  in  those 
days  spent  each  week-end  at  "Farm."  Doubtless 
he  would  now  and  then  take  his  three  unmarried 
sisters  to  Wednesbury  with  him,  and  would  show 
them  the  view  from  the  top  of  Church  Hill,  where 
St.  Bartholomew's  stands  on  the  site  of  an  old 
castle  which  was  defended  by  Ethelfleda,  daughter 
of  Alfred  the  Great,  against  an  incursion  of  the 
Danes.  Here  also  it  is  believed  the  Druids  offered 
up  human  sacrifices.  They  had  also  a  settlement 
at  Barr  (where  for  many  years  the  second  Samuel 
Galton  lived,  close  to  Barr  Beacon),  and  it  is 
thought  that  they  went  at  times  to  the  Wednes- 
bury hill,  the  hill  of  Woden,  the  god  of  the  woods. 
The  popular  idea  is  that  Woden's  temple  stood  on 
the  site  of  the  parish  church — preceding  Ethelfleda's 
castle. 

Samuel  Lloyd,  standing  there  with  his  sisters, 
would  doubtless  descant  to  them  of  the  view.  On 
the  horizon  to  the  east  they  would  see  Barr  Beacon 
with  its  poles,  iron  basket,  and  chains,  just  as 
they  had  been  at  the  time  when  the  news  of  the 
landing  of  Napoleon  was  daily  expected.  Forty 
years  and  more  later  I  found  them  still  undisturbed. 
The  light  fixed  on  the  dome  of  St.  Philip's  Church, 
Birmingham,  would  be  clearly  seen  at  Barr  Beacon. 

N 


i94     THE   LLOYDS   OF    BIRMINGHAM 

On  the  west  horizon,  also  five  miles  away,  they 
would  see  Sedgley  Beacon,  the  fire  from  which, 
should  invasion  take  place,  would  be  visible  at  the 
Wrekin  and  far  into  Shropshire.  Upon  the  south, 
on  the  horizon  another  five  miles  distant,  Dudley 
Castle  is  a  very  conspicuous  object  from  Wednes- 
bury.  From  here  a  fire  would  flash  far  away  into 
the  country  beyond.  But  in  1822,  the  year  in 
which  I  imagine  such  an  excursion  to  have  taken 
place,  the  year  of  invasion  and  of  the  terrible  Boney 
was  over,  for  he  died  on  the  5th  of  May  1821. 

When  a  schoolboy  and  afterwards  I  saw  much 
of  the  two  youngest  of  these  sisters,  who  were 
charming  all  their  lives.  More  than  forty  years 
after  this  pictured  conversation,  one  of  their 
admirers  confided  to  me  his  admiration,  saying, 
in  the  most  expressive  words  he  could  command, 
apparently  with  a  lover's  sigh,  "  they  were  clippers." 
Neither  of  them  fell  to  his  lot. 

In  the  diary  of  a  visit  paid  to  Birmingham  in 
1819  of  some  relatives  I  find  more  than  one  refer- 
ence to  the  " clippers,"  Rachel  and  Sarah.  Thus  : 
"We  had  a  nice  chat  ...  in  the  drawing-room 
after  the  party  separated,  talking  of  the  comparative 
beauties  of  the  ladies  who  had  left  us,  some  preferring 
Rachel,  others  Sarah."  The  next  day  the  visitors 
went  to  "Farm,"  where  they  regaled  themselves 
with  u  milk  warm  from  the  cow,  presented  to  us 
by  the  fair  hands  of  the  lady  Rachel,  who  made  a 
sweet,  elegant,  sylph-like  dairymaid."  Rachel  was 
sixteen  in  1819  ;  Sarah  was  eighteen  months  younger. 
In  1825  Rachel  married  Robert  Howard  of  Totten- 
ham, and  had  eight  children  ;  Sarah,  in  1828, 
married  Alfred  Fox  of  Falmouth,  and  had  twelve 
children. 

I  joined  my  father's  business  in  1843  at  the  age 
of  sixteen.  When  I  first  remember  Wednesbury 


THE   LLOYDS   AND  WEDNESBURY     195 

the  few  shops  kept  open  after  it  was  dark  had 
either  a  couple  of  rush-lights  in  the  window  suffi- 
cient to  make  the  darkness  visible,  or  one  or  two 
aboriginal  dip  candles,  with  wicks  that  badly  wanted 
snuffing.  Bull-baiting  and  cock-fighting  were  then 
the  sports  of  the  uneducated  people,  who  delighted 
in  the  excitement. 

While  on  this  subject  I  am  tempted  to  quote  a 
passage  from  an  interesting  article  on  Wednesbury 
written  in  1868  by  Mr.  J.  C.  Tildesley  :— 

"The  place  was  less  known  for  its  industry  than  for  its 
pastimes.  It  was  the  acknowledged  stronghold  of  the  national 
sport  of  '  cocking.'  At  a  cock-pit  in  the  Potter's  Lane  birds 
were  reared  and  trained  for  King  George ;  and  the  annual 
1  cockings '  here  at  Wake-time  were  attended  by  the  nobility 
and  members  of  the  sporting  fraternity  from  all  parts  of  the 
kingdom.  "Twas  wonderful  to  see,'  says  an  old  record,  'how 
the  great  men  of  our  land  would  flock  to  Wednesbury  to 
behold  a  few  brace  of  spurred  cocks  tear  each  other  to  pieces 
in  their  mad  fury,  set  on  and  abetted  by  their  anxious 
possessors.  Lawyers  and  apothecaries,  country  squires, — 
nay,  even  parsons  in  their  cock-an-pinched  hats,  have  I  seen 
crowding  the  pit  and  applauding  the  bravery  of  the  birds.' 
Ninety  years  ago  the  '  cockings '  of  Wednesbury  were  as 
famous  throughout  the  country,  and  produced  almost  as  much 
excitement,  as  the  modern  Derby-day.  Early  in  the  present 
century,  however,  their  glory  had  begun  to  wane.  Wesley's 
warning  voice  against  the  sport  had  found  an  echo,  and  the 
plea  of  humanity  began  to  assert  its  claim.  The  better  class 
of  townspeople  gradually  discountenanced  the  pastime,  and 
the  fraternity  degenerated  into  the  mere  rabble  of  mobocracy. 
Sarcasm  and  ridicule  did  much  to  render  the  sport  and  its 
devotees  unpopular.  A  street-song  called  'The  Wednesbury 
Cocking '  greatly  infuriated  the  cockers,  and  the  guard  of  the 
mail  coach  '  Nimrod,'  venturing  on  one  occasion  to  give  a  few 
airs  of  the  melody  on  his  bugle,  while  passing  through  the 
town,  was  attacked  by  the  fraternity,  and  savagely  stoned 
for  his  pains.  Bull-baiting,  bear-baiting,  and  badger-drawing 
were  also  included  in  the  popular  recreations  of  the  period, 
as  many  as  six  bulls  having  been  subject  to  canine  encounter 
during  a  single  Wake-time." 


196     THE    LLOYDS    OF    BIRMINGHAM 

Public  opinion  may  have  been  powerful,  but 
it  was  ultimately  the  vicar  of  the  parish,  the 
Rev.  Isaac  Clarkson,  who,  opposed  as  he  was  to 
"  Quaker"  Lloyd  in  religious  views,  united  with 
him  in  inducing  the  people  to  accept  the  Act 
that  made  these  cruel  pursuits  illegal. 

My  father  was  very  handsome  as  a  young  man. 
Once  when  he  sent  me,  when  I  was  sixteen,  to  call 
on  the  late  Thomas  Walker,  the  proprietor,  at  the 
time,  with  Mr.  Geach,  of  the  Patent  Shaft  Works, 
I  remember  Mr.  Walker  saying,  "  You  will  never  be 
such  a  handsome  man  as  your  father."  I  was  a  little 
taken  aback;  but  he  said,  "Your  father,  when  I 
first  saw  him,  was  the  handsomest  man  I  ever  saw 
in  my  life.  He  had  knee-breeches,  and  silk  stock- 
ings, and  a  velvet  coat."  I  conclude  it  must  have 
been  at  the  time  of  one  of  his  sisters'  weddings. 

My  father  rode  a  fine  grey  horse,  and  the 
county  people  wanted  once  to  make  him  a  captain 
of  the  Staffordshire  Yeomanry,  but  his  Friends' 
principles  prevented  him  accepting  the  post.  The 
Lloyds  have  been  a  tall  race.  One  day  when  I 
had  finished  growing,  my  father  asked  me  how 
tall  I  was,  when  I  replied,  5  feet  9^  inches.  He 
said,  "  My  grandfather  was  6  feet  i  inch,  my  father 
6  feet,  and  I  am  5  feet  1 1  inches,  and  you  only 
5  feet  9^  inches  !  What  are  we  coming  to?"  My 
wife,  however,  said  that  the  cleverest  men  she  had 
ever  met  were  all  short  men. 

Talking  one  day  with  my  father  respecting  re- 
ligious persecution,  I  said  that,  as  far  as  the  Church 
of  England  was  concerned,  it  was  now  a  thing  of 
the  past.  He  replied,  "No;  the  same  spirit  is 
still  in  them,  and  no  one  can  tell  how  soon  perse- 
cution may  again  take  place,"  and  lately  it  has 
become  manifest,  by  the  Act  of  Parliament  of  1902, 
under  which  Nonconformist  ministers  and  others 


THE   LLOYDS   AND  WEDNESBURY     197 

have  been  imprisoned  upon  the  religious  educa- 
tional question.  He  considered  that  he  had  suffered 
at  Wednesbury  when,  soon  after  he  went  to  live 
there,  two  fine  horses  belonging  to  his  firm,  and 
worth  ^40  each,  were  seized  and  sold,  because  he 
had  not  paid  the  Great  Tithe.  Four  days  after- 
wards both  horses  died,  and  the  people  of  Wednes- 
bury deemed  this  to  be  a  judgment  following  the 
taking  of  them. 

Happily  the  Tithe  Commutation  Act,  passed 
in  1834,  tended  greatly  to  allay  friction  between 
Church  and  Dissent ;  and  when  Church  Rates  in 
Birmingham,  more  than  half  a  century  ago,  were 
abolished,  the  houses  of  dissenters  were  no  longer 
invaded,  and  articles,  often  of  double  the  value  of 
the  rate,  seized  and  sold  at  little  more  than  half 
their  value.  The  Friends  have  always  defrayed 
the  expenses  connected  with  their  own  places  of 
worship,  besides  distributing  to  the  necessities  of 
their  own  poor,  &c. 

Some  members  of  the  Lloyd  family  are  now 
earnest  members  of  the  Church  of  England.  As 
an  instance  of  friendly  feeling  towards  it,  I  may 
mention  that  John  William  Pease,  banker,  of  New- 
castle-on-Tyne,  though  a  Friend,  gave  up  his 
residence  there,  worth  ,£10,000  or  more,  as  a 
bishop's  palace  was  much  needed  in  the  newly 
appointed  diocese.  He  died  a  few  years  ago,  and 
his  widow,  my  first  cousin,  is,  I  am  sure,  very  well 
pleased  in  remembering  her  husband's  timely 
generosity. 

Coming  events  cast  their  shadows  before,  and 
the  year  1906  opens  with  a  document  signed  by 
1700  clergymen  of  the  Church  of  England  which 
was  sent  by  them  to  the  members  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  in  America,  in  which  they  assert  their 
confidence  that  "  the  faith  of  the  Church  will  stand 


198     THE    LLOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 

whatever  historical  revision  may  await  us,"  and 
they  desire  that  the  clergy,  as  Christian  teachers, 
should  take  part  in,  and  welcome,  a  patient, 
reverent,  and  progressive  criticism  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testament  .  .  .  "  lest  the  door  of  ordination 
should  be  closed  to  men  who  patiently  and 
reverently  apply  historical  methods  to  the  gospel 
records,  and  so  an  increasing  number  of  men,  both 
spiritually  and  intellectually  qualified,  should  be 
lost  to  the  high  office  of  the  Ministry." 

The  Quaker  descendants  of  the  Lloyds  of 
Birmingham,  and  the  most  enlightened  members 
of  every  religious  society,  no  longer  deprecate  in- 
vestigations into  the  correctness  of  any  and  every 
passage  of  Scripture  fearing  lest  the  whole  citadel 
of  truth  should  be  shaken  to  its  foundation  and 
infidelity  triumph  as  the  result.  This  small  book 
welcomes  the  declaration  of  these  1700  clergymen. 

The  imprisonment  and  continued  religious 
persecution  of  Charles  Lloyd,  which  caused  the 
migration  of  the  family  to  Birmingham,  his  de- 
scendants may  freely  and  thankfully  acknowledge, 
has  been  overruled,  in  their  case,  by  a  kind  Provi- 
dence, for  good.  That  persecution  calls  to  mind 
the  experience  which  George  Fox  gave  expression 
to  in  his  Narrative  of  the  Spreading  of  Truth, 
where  he  writes  :  "  There  was  never  any  persecution 
that  came,  but  we  saw  in  the  event  that  it  would 
be  productive  of  good  ;  nor  were  there  ever  any 
prisons  that  I  was  in,  or  sufferings  which  I  endured, 
but  it  was  for  bringing  multitudes  out  of  prison  ;  " 
for  "  they  who  imprisoned  the  Truth,  and  quenched 
the  Spirit  in  themselves,"  quenched  it  also  out- 
side the  prisons,  so  "  that  it  became  as  a  byword  : 
*  truth  is  scarcely  anywhere  to  be  found,  but  in 
jail.' ' 

It  would  take  many  pages  to  describe  the  com- 


THE   LLOYDS   AND   WEDNESBURY     199 

mercial  success  attending  the  industrial  enterprise 
of  the  firm  of  Lloyds,  Fosters  &  Co.,  from  the 
starting  of  the  blast-furnaces  about  1825-26,  with 
"  Quaker"  Lloyd,  as  my  father  was  called,  at  its 
head,  until  death  terminated  his  labours  in  1862. 
The  business  had  by  that  time  become  large  and 
prosperous ;  engineering  works  and  forges  and 
mills  had  been  erected,  and  the  weekly  wages 
amounted  to  ^3000 ;  but  almost  as  fast  as  money 
was  made  it  was  spent  in  what  seemed  to  be  needful 
outlays  to  supply  the  increasing  requirements  of 
customers,  so  that  no  great  amount  of  money  was 
available  for  distribution  amongst  the  partners. 
Particulars  respecting  this  firm  are  given  in  the 
Wednesbury  papers  at  the  time  of  the  sale  of  the 
business  in  1866-67  to  the  Patent  Shaft  and  Axle- 
tree  Co.  Limited  ;  and  also  by  Mr.  P.  W.  Hack- 
wood  in  his  Wednesbury  Ancient  and  Modern,  and 
The  Story  of  the  Black  Country,  &c. 

What  became  of  the  business  afterwards  ?  may 
be  asked.  My  father  impressed  upon  me,  when 
young,  the  truth  that  riches  can  take  wings  ;  and 
amongst  other  truisms  I  heard  from  time  to  time  I 
remember  my  elder  sister's  husband,  the  late  Henry 
Pease,  of  Stanhope  Castle  and  Darlington,  remark- 
ing that  he  had  been  greatly  struck  with  the 
rapidity  with  which  a  good  business  may  be  de- 
stroyed by  an  unfortunate  change  of  management. 
He  was  the  youngest  son  of  Edward  Pease  of 
Darlington,  "  The  Father  of  Railways,"  who  told 
his  sons  to  remember  that  a  business  was  not  an 
estate.  I  remember  my  father  further  saying  that, 
partnerships  are  awkward  things. 

After  this  preamble,  what  happened  may  be 
briefly  described.  In  1861-62  the  Corporation  of 
London  decided  to  erect  the  present  Blackfriars 
Bridge  across  the  Thames.  The  contract  for  its 


200     THE   LLOYDS    OF   BIRMINGHAM 

construction  was  let  to  Messrs.  Thorn,  a  London 
firm,  who  ordered  the  necessary  ironwork  from 
Lloyds,  Fosters  &  Co.,  and  agreed  to  pay  cash 
monthly  for  each  previous  month's  deliveries. 
When  the  first  monthly  payment  became  due,  they 
could  not  meet  it,  but  sent  instead  their  four  months' 
promissory  note,  which  also  they  failed  to  meet. 
Thereupon  I  strongly  urged  that  deliveries  to  them 
should  cease,  for  it  showed  that  a  crisis  had  arrived, 
and  that  we  ought  to  adhere  to  the  terms  of  our 
contract.  I  knew  that  this  would  have  been  very 
decidedly  my  father's  view  if  he  had  been  still  alive 
and  a  partner,  but  those  who  then  owned  three- 
quarters  of  the  share  capital  of  the  firm  (and  shortly 
after  owned  seven-eighths),  said  decidedly  it  would 
be  better  to  finance  the  contractors.  I,  who  took 
the  opposite  view,  only  owned  one-eighth.  My 
partners  were  so  confident  that  theirs  would  be  the 
best  course  that  all  the  arguments  I  could  advance 
as  to  the  risks  and  danger  of  doing  so  were  totally 
unavailing.  I  reminded  them  that  we  knew  that 
the  Messrs.  Thorn  had  taken  the  contract  at  a 
price  far  below  that  of  other  tenders,  ,£100,000,  for 
instance,  below  the  tender  of  the  Messrs.  Brassey  ; 
and  amongst  other  things  I  reminded  them  that 
Fox,  Henderson  &  Co.  of  Smethwick,  a  prosperous 
firm,  our  competitors  for  a  long  time  in  supplying 
ironwork  to  railways,  had  been  ruined  by  becoming 
contractors  in  Denmark ;  and  another  well-to-do 
firm,  Bury,  Curtis  &  Kennedy,  engine-makers,  of 
Liverpool,  had  likewise  been  ruined  by  departing 
from  their  ordinary  trade  and  undertaking  the  con- 
struction of  a  bridge  across  the  Neva  at  St.  Peters- 
burg. It  was  in  vain.  Their  minds  were  so  fully 
made  up  that  all  argument  was  useless. 

Expenses    meanwhile    mounted    up,    all    to  the 
detriment    of   the    contractors'    bargain.       In    the 


THE   LLOYDS   AND   WEDNESBURY     201 

construction  of  the  Blackfriars  Bridge  the  stone 
piers  had  to  be  built  up  in  the  bed  of  the  river,  the 
men  working  inside  iron  caissons  that  had  to  be 
made  and  kept  water-tight.  These  caissons  had  to 
be  sunk  into  the  London  clay  below  the  bed  of  the 
river  to  obtain  a  solid  foundation,  and  as  the  tide 
was  rushing  to  and  fro  night  and  day  this  was 
found  to  be  much  more  difficult  than  my  partners, 
or  the  contractors,  or  even  the  engineer,  Mr.  Cubitt, 
had  contemplated.  A  further  difficulty  arose  at  the 
city  end  of  the  bridge,  where  the  Fleet  ditch,  as 
it  was  called,  had  been  pouring  its  waters  for 
thousands  of  years  into  the  river,  and  in  doing  so 
had  burrowed  down  and  made  the  ground  so  soft 
that  there  seemed  no  bottom  to  it. 

But  money  and  perseverance  at  length  overcame 
all  difficulties,  and  the  bridge  was  finished,  and 
was  opened  by  Queen  Victoria,  on  November  6, 
1869.  But  through  financing  the  contractors,  the 
partners  of  Lloyds,  Fosters  &  Co.  incurred  a  loss 
of  a  quarter  of  a  million  sterling.  This  necessitated 
the  sale  of  the  works  and  business  to  the  well- 
known  Wednesbury  firm,  the  Patent  Shaft  and 
Axletree  Co.  Limited.  The  sale  was  satisfactory 
to  the  purchasers,  as  in  about  seven  years  the 
profits  were  sufficient  to  pay  the  whole  of  the 
purchase-money  in  dividends  ;  and  notwithstanding 
the  disaster,  among  the  partners  of  the  absorbed 
firm,  I  have  pleasure  in  remembering,  not  one  word 
of  recrimination  ever  passed. 

Although  we  remained  good  friends,  in  spite 
of  this  perfectly  unnecessary  calamity,  the  disaster 
caused  me  to  repeat  to  myself  many  hundreds  of 
times,  while  the  wealth,  having  taken  wings,  was 
thus  daily  flying  away,  the  Latin  words:  "  Quos 
Deus  vult  perdere,  prius  dementat  "  (Those  whom 
God  wishes  to  destroy  He  first  deprives  of 


202     THE   LLOYDS   OF    BIRMINGHAM 

their  reason)  ;  and  I  repeated  also  the  words, 
"Consider  it,"  being  my  own  abbreviation  of 
Ecclesiastes  vii.  14:  "  In  prosperity  be  joyful, 
but  in  the  day  of  adversity  consider." 

Meanwhile,  while  some  of  the  descendants  of 
Charles  Lloyd  of  Dolobran  thus  lost  a  quarter  of 
a  million  of  money,  two  others,  both  Lloyds,  first 
cousins  of  mine,  working  in  partnership  together, 
were  being  so  successful  in  their  business  affairs 
that  they  gained  nearly  twice  that  sum.  The 
elder  of  the  two  brothers  most  generously  gave 
away  of  his  superfluity  and  abundance,  not  forget- 
ting those  of  his  own  kith  and  kin  to  whom  he 
believed  timely  assistance  might  be  acceptable,  and 
so  far  from  wishing  that  a  word  of  thanks  should  be 
said  by  any  relative  in  praise  of  his  generosity,  he 
expressly  forbade  it.  The  gifts  to  relatives  generally 
came  unexpectedly,  accompanied  by  a  letter,  al- 
ways in  his  own  clever,  amusing  style,  sometimes 
assuring  the  recipients  of  his  bounty  that  they 
were  doing  him  a  favour  by  helping  him  to  get 
rid  of  a  burden  that  was  weighing  him  down.  He 
so  expressly  forbade  any  word  of  praise  or  thanks 
that  even  his  name  must  be  withheld  in  this  slight 
reference  to  him.  Some  who  had  converse  with 
him  may  adopt  the  lines — 

"  Say  not  the  long  ago  grows  dim, 

Though  years  have  taken  flight ; 
We  ever  shall  remember  him 

Who  filled  those  hours  with  light." 

To  return  to  my  own  affairs,  I  left  one  iron 
business  only  to  establish  others,  in  which,  in  their 
turns,  my  sons  are  now  occupied — so  that  Lloyds 
are  still  true  to  iron  and  are  likely  to  be  so,  as 
my  sons  take  kindly  to  different  branches  of  the 
business.  Ironmasters  have  always  been  among 
my  heroes  and  friends — from  George  Stephenson, 


SAMUEL   LLOYD   OF   "  FARM." 


THE   LLOYDS   AND   WEDNESBURY     203 

whom  I  heard  lecture  on  "The  Fallacies  of  the 
Rotary  Engine,"  to  Sir  William  Bessemer  and 
Mr.  Andrew  Carnegie.  I  worked  with  Sir  William 
Siemens  in  his  experiments  towards  utilising  the 
waste  heat  of  furnaces.  I  will  not  say  that  iron 
has  entered  into  my  soul,  for  that  would  not  be 
true ;  but  I  am  deeply  interested  in  it,  and  was 
much  pleased  the  other  day  to  learn  that  George 
Washington's  father  and  Abraham  Lincoln's  great 
great  grandfather  were  both  ironmasters. 

Writing  about  oneself  is  not  a  congenial  task  ; 
yet,  lest  it  be  thought  that  I  am  over  much  given  to 
business,  I  should  like  to  mention  the  time  I  have 
given  not  only  to  the  study  but  also  to  the  distri- 
bution of  the  Bible — even  to  smuggling,  under  the 
influence  of  George  Borrow's  book,  copies  of  the 
Scriptures  into  Spain — by  hiding  them  in  the  hollow 
balance-weights  of  the  machinery  we  sent  out  to 
Barcelona  when  we  supplied  the  rolling-mills  there, 
the  dissemination  of  the  literature  being  under- 
taken by  a  zealous  Welsh  foreman.  I  have  long 
been  an  active  member  of  the  Bible  Society,  and 
recently  I  myself  published  The  Corrected  New 
Testament,  in  the  preparation  of  which  I  had  the 
valuable  assistance  of  the  Rev.  G.  C.  Cunnington 
and  many  famous  theological  scholars.  I  consider 
that  my  life-work. 

This  narrative  must  now  conclude.  It  was 
Lord  Bacon  who  said,  "  Lives  contain  a  com- 
mixture of  actions,  greater  and  smaller,  public  and 
private,  and  of  necessity  a  more  true  native  and 
lively  representation  than  histories  that  merely 
record  the  pomp  of  business."  However  this  may 
be,  the  task  my  cousin  set  me  to  perform  seems 
to  me  sufficiently  completed  for  me  now  to  take 
leave  of  the  reader. 


APPENDIX    I 

ANCESTRY   OF    THE    LLOYDS   OF    BIRMINGHAM 
AND   ROYAL  DESCENT 

THROUGH  the  marriage  of  the  second  Charles  Lloyd  with 
Elizabeth  Lort,  his  descendants  are  able  to  claim  royal  descent 
in  more  than  one  line.  In  Foster's  Royal  Descent  the  ancestry 
of  the  Lloyds  of  Birmingham  has  been  traced,  through  this 
marriage,  to  Edward  I.  of  England.  But  a  chart  prepared 
in  1903  and  1904  by  the  Rev.  R.  Owen  Thomas  from 
authentic  pedigrees  shows  that  the  Lloyds'  pedigree,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  descent  from  Edward  I.,  and  the  more  direct 
descent  from  four  lines  of  British  kings,  goes  back,  in  some 
cases,  more  than  a  thousand  years. 

The  four  principal  converging  lines  proceed  respectively 
from  the  monarchs  of  a  united  kingdom  of  Wales;  from 
the  Anglo-Saxon  king  Alfred  the  Great;  from  William,  the 
Norman  conqueror  of  England  ;  and  from  the  early  kings  of 
Scotland.  The  chart  shows  that  in  successive  centuries  these 
four  lines  were  woven  by  various  marriages.  This,  while 
complicating  the  pedigree,  puts  the  fact  of  this  fourfold  suc- 
cession beyond  dispute.  To  trace  all  these  connections  would 
be  a  somewhat  tedious  process,  but  some  of  the  leading 
genealogical  facts  may  be  found  interesting. 

The  Lorts,  from  whom,  through  the  marriage  of  the 
second  Charles  Lloyd  of  Dolobran,  the  immediate  ancestor 
of  the  Birmingham  Lloyds,  a  descent  from  Edward  I.  is 
commonly  traced,  claim  descent  also  from  the  Scottish  kings 
and  from  William  the  Conqueror.  The  father  of  Sampson 
Lort  was  Sir  Roger  Lort  Stacpoole,  1st  Baronet  (died  1664), 
and  his  mother  was  Hester  Annesley,  daughter  of  Francis 
Annesley,  1st  Viscount  Valcntia  and  Lord  Mountm orris  in 
Ireland  (died  1660).  Francis  Annesley 's  wife,  Jane  Stanhope, 
Was  daughter  of  Sir  John  Stanhope,  ancestor  of  the  Earls  of 

205 


206  APPENDIX   I 

Chesterfield  and  Harrington.  The  grandfather  of  Sir  John 
was  Sir  Michael  Stanhope  (executed  on  Tower  Hill  1552), 
who,  through  both  parents,  was  descended  from  Princess 
Gundred,  daughter  of  William  the  Conqueror  and  wife  of 
William  de  Warenne,  Earl  of  Surrey.  It  is  through  Sir 
Michael's  mother  that  one  of  the  lines  of  Scottish  descent  is 
to  be  traced.  This  lady,  Avelina  Clifton,  was  a  great  grand- 
daughter of  Henry  de  Clifton,  who  was  one  of  the  English 
commanders  at  the  battle  of  Flodden,  and  died  in  1523,  aged 
seventy.  John,  the  9th  Lord  Clifford,  married  Margaret,  the 
only  child  of  Lord  Vesci,  a  descendant  of  William  the  Lion 
of  Scotland,  while  through  Joan  Dacre,  wife  of  Thomas,  the 
8th  Lord  Clifford  (slain  at  the  battle  of  St.  Albans  1454),  and 
her  mother,  Lady  Phillips,  daughter  of  Ralph,  Earl  of  West- 
moreland, appears  a  descent  from  Edward  III.  of  England. 

The  main  line  of  descent  from  the  Scottish  kings  is 
through  Lady  Joan  Douglas,  wife  of  the  5th  Lord  Dacre,  and 
daughter  of  the  Princess  Egidia  who  married  the  1st  Earl 
of  Douglas  (died  1384).  Princess  Egidia  was  a  daughter  of 
King  Robert  of  Scotland  ;  and  so,  through  a  succession  which 
includes  Robert  the  Bruce,  and  the  king  Duncan  who  was 
murdered  by  Macbeth,  the  ancestry  goes  back  in  a  direct  line 
to  Donald  VI.,  who  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Scotland  in 
889,  on  the  abdication  of  Gregory  the  Great,  and  died  in  900. 


ALFRED  THE  GREAT 

The  succession  from  Alfred  the  Great,  and  also  that  from 
the  Norman  kings,  is  linked  at  more  than  one  point  with  this 
Scottish  ancestry. 

Lady  Adeline,  wife  of  Prince  Henry  of  Scotland,  was 
descended  from  William  the  Conqueror,  and  Henry's  father, 
David  I.,  King  of  Scotland,  and  Earl  of  Huntingdon  in  the 
English  peerage,  had  married  Lady  Maud,  daughter  of 
Waltheof,  Earl  of  Northumberland  (died  1153),  who  was  a 
descendant  of  Alfred  the  Great.  A  descent  from  Alfred  is 
to  be  traced  also  through  the  marriage  of  another  Scottish 
king,  Malcolm  III.  ("Canmore"),  who  died  in  1098,  and  whose 
wife  was  the  Princess  Margaret,  daughter  of  Edward  the 
Exile  (died  1057),  son  of  the  Saxon  king,  Edmund  Ironside. 

The  English  line  of  the  descent  from   Alfred  the  Great 


APPENDIX    I  207 

(died  901)  is  through  the  Lady  Eleanor  Nevill.  She  married 
Thomas  Stanley,  ist  Earl  of  Derby,  who  crowned  Henry  VII. 
on  Bos  worth  Field  and  died  in  1524.  A  descendant  of  his, 
Elizabeth  Stanley,  married  the  first  Charles  Lloyd  of  Dolobran 
(born  1 597).  The  descent  of  the  Nevills  from  Alfred  is  traced 
through  the  Lords  of  Raby  to  Cospatric,  Saxon  Earl  of 
Northumberland,  who  was  confirmed  in  his  dignities  by 
William  the  Conqueror,  but  was  deposed  soon  afterwards 
for  rebellion  against  the  Norman  rule.  Cospatric  fled  into 
Scotland,  taking  with  him  Edgar  Atheling,  the  Saxon  claimant 
to  the  English  throne,  and  Edgar's  sister,  the  Princess  Mar- 
garet. Cospatric  was  descended,  in  the  female  line,  from 
King  Ethelred  II.,  and  so,  through  kings  Edgar,  Edmund  I. 
and  Edward  the  elder,  from  Alfred. 

By  the  marriage  of  the  Saxon  Princess  Margaret  to 
Malcolm  III.  of  Scotland  comes  another  collateral  royal 
descent.  Their  daughter  Matilda  was  espoused  by  Henry  I. 
of  England.  This  union  of  the  Norman  and  Saxon  royal 
families  contributed  greatly  to  the  popularity  of  Henry  I.  and 
to  the  pacification  of  the  kingdom,  while  from  the  marriage  of 
their  daughter,  the  Empress  Matilda,  to  Geoffrey  Count  of 
Anjou,  sprang  the  Angevin  or  Plantagenet  line  of  English 
kings. 

From  one  of  the  greatest  of  these,  Edward  I.,  "  the  English 
Justinian,"  the  best  known  pedigree  of  the  Lloyds,  that  given 
in  Foster's  Royal  Descent,  is  traced  through  Elizabeth  Lort, 
wife  of  the  second  Charles  Lloyd  of  Dolobran.  Her  mother, 
Olive  Phillips,  was  fifth  daughter  of  Sir  John  Phillips,  Bart., 
of  Picton  Castle,  Pembroke  (died  1629).  Sir  John,  who  was 
descended  from  Prince  Rhys  of  South  Wales,  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  Sir  John  Perrott,  of  Haroldstone,  K.B.,  who  was 
Lord-Deputy  of  Ireland  in  1583  and  Admiral  of  the  Fleet, 
and  died  in  the  Tower.  Through  Mary  Berkeley,  the  mother 
of  Sir  John,  the  Perrotts  were  descended,  through  the 
Berkeleys  of  Ragland,  from  Sir  Maurice  Berkeley  (summoned 
to  Parliament  1362-1368),  who  married  a  daughter  of  Hugh 
le  De  Spencer  (ancestor  of  the  present  Earl  Spencer).  This 
was  the  younger  of  the  two  De  Spencers,  father  and  son,  who 
championed  the  cause  of  the  weak  Edward  II.  against  the 
barons  in  1326,  and  endeavoured  to  strengthen  the  throne  on 
constitutional  lines  by  a  statute  directed  against  the  assump- 
tion of  legislative  power  by  the  baronage  alone.  The  younger 
De  Spencers,  on  the  capture  of  the  king  by  the  barons  in  1326, 


2o8  •  APPENDIX   I 

was  summarily  condemned  as  a  traitor  and  hanged  on  a  gibbet 
fifty  feet  high,  the  king  being  murdered  at  Berkeley  Castle  in 
the  following  year.  This  De  Spencer  had  married  Eleanor, 
whose  parents  were  Gilbert  de  Clare,  Earl  of  Gloucester  and 
Hertford,  and  Joan  Dacre,  daughter  of  Edward  I. 

Curiously,  Mr.  Owen  Thomas  in  his  more  elaborate  chart 
has  not  carried  back  the  pedigree  of  the  Lloyds  through  the 
line  thus  leading  from  Edward  I.  Olive  Phillips  is  mentioned, 
but  her  descent  is  not  traced.  Probably  he  was  satisfied  with 
having  discovered  a  more  ancient  royal  ancestry.  His  chart, 
however,  does  give  a  double  line  of  descent  from  Edward  I., 
converging  in  the  Stanleys,  ancestors  of  the  wife  of  the  first 
Charles  Lloyd  of  Dolobran. 


THE  FIRST  EARL  OF  DERBY 

The  first  Earl  of  Derby  was  descended,  in  the  female  line, 
from  the  De  Bohuns,  one  of  whom,  Humphrey  de  Bohun, 
Earl  of  Hereford,  High  Constable  of  England  (died  1341), 
married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Edward  I.  This  Earl  of  Derby 
married  Lady  Eleanor  Nevill,  through  whom  a  descent  from 
Alfred  the  Great  has  already  been  shown,  and  whose  father, 
Richard  Nevill,  Earl  of  Salisbury,  through  his  mother,  Lady 
Joan  Beaufort,  daughter  of  "John  of  Gaunt,  time-honoured 
Lancaster,"  was  descended  from  the  first  three  Edwards. 
Moreover,  Lady  Eleanor's  mother,  Lady  Alice  Montacute,  was 
descended  from  Prince  Edward,  Earl  of  Kent  (executed  1329), 
third  son  of  Edward  I.  Lady  Joan  Plantagenet  (known  as 
"  The  Fair  Maid  of  Kent "),  daughter  of  this  prince,  married  an 
ancestor  of  the  Lady  Eleanor  Holland,  who  became  wife  of 
Thomas  Montacute,  Earl  of  Salisbury,  and  mother  of  Richard 
Nevill's  wife,  Lady  Alice. 


OUR  WELSH  ANCESTRY 

The  Welsh  ancestry  of  the  Lloyds,  traced  by  Mr.  Owen 
Thomas,  is  equally  interesting.  There  is  the  direct  family 
descent  from  the  kings  or  princes  of  South  Wales  already 
mentioned,  and  through  the  marriage  of  John  Lloyd  (cousin 
of  the  second  David  Lloyd  of  Dolobran)  with  Margaret 


APPENDIX    I  209 

Kynaston,  and  that  of  their  granddaughter  to  the  first  John 
Lloyd  of  Dolobran,  the  Lloyds  of  Birmingham  are  descended 
from  King  Roderick  the  Great,  who  in  843  became  King  of 
all  Wales.  Roderick  was  King  of  North  Wales  by  maternal 
inheritance,  of  Powis  by  paternal  descent,  and  of  South  Wales 
by  marriage. 

The  mother  of  the  first  Charles  Lloyd,  and  grandmother  of 
the  Charles  Lloyd  the  Quaker,  through  whose  sufferings  for 
conscience'  sake  occurred  the  migration  of  one  branch  of  his 
family  to  Birmingham,  was  Katherine  Wynne,  daughter  of 
Humphrey  son  of  the  John  Lloyd  and  Margaret  Kynaston 
just  mentioned.  Humphrey  Lloyd  had  assumed  the  surname 
of  Wynne  and  was  settled  at  Garth  near  Duffryn,  Mont- 
gomeryshire. The  father  of  Margaret  Kynaston  was  Sir 
Roger  Kynaston,  Knight  of  Hordley,  Salop,  who  distinguished 
himself  at  the  battle  of  Bloreheath  (1459).  His  wife,  Lady 
Elizabeth  Grey,  daughter  of  John  Powis,  could  claim  royal 
descent  through  Princess  Gundred,  daughter  of  William  the 
Conqueror,  and  through  Prince  Thomas,  Earl  of  Norfolk, 
second  son  of  Edward  I. 

An  ancestor  of  Sir  Roger's,  Madoc  Kynaston,  who  was 
.slain  at  the  battle  of  Shrewsbury  (1403),  having  taken  part 
with  Owen  Glendower  (also  a  descendant  of  King  Roderick 
the  Great)  in  the  Percys'  Rebellion,  had  married  Lady  Isolda 
Percy,  a  descendant  (through  her  father,  Henry,  1st  Earl  of 
Northumberland  of  his  line)  of  Henry  III.,  and,  through  her 
mother,  Margaret  Nevill,  of  Alfred  the  Great.  Madoc  Kynaston, 
through  his  mother,  Agnes,  and  his  grandmother,  Annes,  the 
wife  of  Llewellyn  Dhu,  3rd  Baron  of  Cymmes  (a  descendant 
of  Prince  Madoc  of  Powys),  was  descended  from  the  eldest 
of  the  lines  of  princes  which  traced  their  origin  to  Roderick 
the  Great.  The  father  of  the  Lady  Annes  was  Jevan  ap 
Jorwerth  of  Llanwyllin,  Merionethshire,  while  her  mother, 
Margaret,  was  a  direct  descendant  in  the  male  line  from  Prince 
Madoc  of  Powys,  and,  through  her  mother,  from  Richard  de 
Cornewall,  grandson  of  King  John  of  England.  Jevan's  mother, 
Gwen,  was  in  the  line  of  descent  from  Roderick,  while  his 
father,  Jorwerth  ap  David,  was  descended  from  Prince  David, 
son  of  King  Owen  of  North  Wales,  and  Princess  Emma, 
daughter  of  King  Henry  of  England.  Among  the  illustrious 
ancestors  of  the  Lady  Gwen  was  Prince  Cadwalder,  Earl  of 
Cardigan,  the  famous  Welsh  general  (died  1172). 

Some  interesting  facts  in  the  genealogy  of  the  Lloyds  may 

O 


210  .  APPENDIX    I 

be  noted  at  this  point.  The  wife  of  Prince  Cadwalder,  Lady 
Alice  Fitz-Gilbert,  was  daughter  of  Richard,  Earl  of  Hertford, 
and  of  Lady  Adelicia,  through  whom  is  to  be  traced  yet  another 
line  of  descent  from  Alfred  the  Great.  This  line  goes  back 
through  Algar,  Earl  of  Cornwall  and  Mercia,  whose  wife  was 
a  daughter  of  William  Mallet,  a  Norman  baron  who  buried  the 
body  of  Harold  after  the  battle  of  Hastings  (1066).  Algar's 
father  was  the  Leofric,  Earl  of  Mercia  (died  1057),  and  his 
mother  the  Lady  Godiva,  who  figures  in  the  famous  Coventry 
legend,  and  who  were  buried  in  the  abbey  founded  by  them 
at  Coventry.  Leofric  was  descended  from  Alfred  through  that 
king's  daughter,  the  Princess  Ethelfleda,  who,  it  is  curious  to 
note,  took  the  field  against  the  Welsh  on  the  death  of  her 
husband  Ethelred,  the  last  Duke  of  Mercia.  The  Lloyds  can 
also  claim  an  infusion  of  Danish  royal  blood,  through  the 
marriages  of  some  of  their  ancestors.  For  instance,  Leofrine, 
Earl  of  Mercia,  and  father  of  Leofric,  married  Alwara,  daughter 
of  Athelstan,  Danish  Duke  of  East  Anglia. 

To  resume  the  Welsh  genealogy,  Prince  Cadwalder  or 
Cadwalader  was  a  son  of  King  Griffith  II.,  who  was  Sovereign 
of  North  Wales  1077-1137,  though  his  father,  Prince  Conan, 
and  his  grandfather,  Prince  Jago,  had  been  excluded  from 
the  throne  in  favour  of  princes  of  a  younger  branch.  Jago's 
father,  King  Idwall  II.  (died  993),  was  fourth  in  the  line  of 
descent  from  Roderick  the  Great,  through  the  eldest  son,  King 
Anarawd,  Sovereign  of  North  Wales.  The  kingdom  had  been 
divided  on  Roderick's  death — North  Wales  to  his  eldest  son, 
South  Wales  going  to  his  second  son,  Cadell,  and  Powys  to 
the  third  son,  Mervyn.  On  Mervyn's  death  Cadell  took  pos- 
session of  Powys,  and  these  two  kingdoms  remained  united 
for  170  years.  A  descent  from  Roderick  through  Cadell  is 
established  by  the  marriage  of  Ivan  Teg  with  Maud  Blaney, 
a  descendant  of  this  king,  as  well  as  by  marriage  of  earlier 
ancestors,  while  in  the  tenth  century  the  families  of  Cadell  and 
Mervyn  had  been  united  by  the  marriage  of  King  Owen  I., 
Sovereign  of  South  Wales,  with  the  dispossessed  Crown 
Princess,  Angharad  of  Powys,  granddaughter  of  Mervyn. 

An  Irish  royal  ancestry  of  the  Lloyds  is  to  be  traced 
through  the  marriage  of  Prince  Conan,  father  of  Griffith,  with 
Ranult,  daughter  of  Alflaad,  Prince  of  Dublin.  From  King 
Griffith  are  descended  the  William- Wynn  family  of  baronets 
and  the  Tudor  sovereigns  of  England. 

In  the   privately   printed   books   by   Joseph    Foster,    also 


APPENDIX    I  an 

Burke's  Landed  Gentry,  &c.,  also  Farm  and  its  Inhabitants,  by 
Mrs.  Lowe  of  Ettington,  it  is  mentioned  that  Meorig,  the  first 
of  that  name  on  record,  was  succeeded  by  his  eldest  son  Sawl ; 
then  followed  Lyman,  Llewellyn,  Leissyltt,  Lowarch,  Collwyn, 
Prince  of  Demeca  or  Dimitia,  part  of  Merionethshire  and 
Montgomeryshire;  then  followed  Gwyn  Prince  of  Dyfed, 
G  wry  ant,  Ivor,  Llewellyn,  Cadwyan,  Griffith,  Cadwegan,  Aleth 
Prince  of  Dyfed;  Uchdryd,  Jerweth  Lord  of  Falgarth,  who 
married,  in  1112,  Ellen,  daughter  of  Uchdryd  Edywn  Prince  of 
Fegengl;  Georgeman,  Gwerfyl,  Cynddelw,  Rivid,  Celynin  or 
Cyhylin.  The  Heralds  Office  gives  the  descent  from  Aleth, 
Uchdryd,  Gwrgency,  Jerworth,  Cyndheln,  Ririd,  Cyhylin. 

Further  information  is  given  respecting  the  Lloyds  of 
Dolobran  in  the  ninth  volume  of  the  Powys-land  Club 
(printed  for  the  club  by  Thos.  Richards,  37  Great  Queen 
Street,  London,  1876). 

Charles  Perrin  Smith  of  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  one  of  the 
descendants  of  Thomas  Lloyd,  having  joined  the  Powys-land 
Club,  has  since  compiled  from  the  Montgomeryshire  collections 
and  other  sources,  addenda  to  the  Lloyd  lineage;  also  in  1870 
he  had  privately  printed,  The  Lineage  of  the  Lloyd  and  Car- 
penter Family -,  and  in  1875,  The  Home  and  Ancestry  of  Thomas 
Lloydy  Governor  of  Pennsylvania ,  who  was  born  in  1640,  and 
died  in  1694. 


APPENDIX    II 

I  GIVE  here,  from  the  second  number  of  Lloyds  Bank  Magazine, 
December  1902,  the  original  prospectus  of  Lloyds  Bank  issued 
on  March  29,  1865,  together  with  the  names  of  the  Provisional 
Committee,  and  also  the  first  Report  of  the  Bank,  dated 
February  9,  1866,  and  the  first  balance  sheet,  dated  December 
31,  1865.  I  add  also  the  balance  sheet  of  December  31,  1883, 
just  before  the  London  amalgamations,  and  the  balance  sheet 
of  December  31,  1906. 


LLOYDS  BANKING  COMPANY  LIMITED. 


Founded  on  the  Private  Banks  of  Messrs.  Lloyd  &  Company 
and  Messrs.  Moilliet  &  Sons. 


To  BE  INCORPORATED  UNDER  "THE  COMPANIES  ACT,  1862." 

Capital  .£2,000,000  in  40,000  Shares  of  .£50  each. 

First  Issue  25,000  Shares. 
Calls  not  to  exceed  in  the  aggregate  £12,  ros.  per  share. 


PROVISIONAL  COMMITTEE. 

John  Foster  Adams,  Esq.,  Olton  Hall. 
Mr.  Thomas  Adams,  Birmingham. 
Mr.  Arthur  Albright,  Oldbury. 
Rev.  G.  W.  B.  Adderley,  Fillongley  Hall. 
Charles  Haden  Adams,  Esq.,  Fillongley. 
Mr.  Frederick  Ash,  Birmingham. 


APPENDIX    II  213 

Mr.  J.  Bates,  Birmingham. 

Rev.  B.  Jones-Bateman,  Sheldon. 

James  T.  Bolton,  Esq.,  Solihull. 

Mr.  Samuel  Briggs,  Birmingham. 

Mr.  Joseph  Bourne,  Birmingham. 

Edwin  Bullock,  Esq.,  Handsworth. 

Mr.  R.  C.  Brinton,  Birmingham. 

Mr.  John  Cadbury,  Birmingham. 

Mr.  Henry  Cooper,  King's  Heath. 

H.  H.  Chattock,  Esq.,  Solihull. 

Mr.  Joseph  Chamberlain,  Birmingham. 

Mr.  J.  B.  Chamberlain,  Birmingham. 

Mr.  Charles  Couchman,  Temple  Balsall. 

Mr.  J.  Cooper,  Birmingham. 

Mr.  C.  W.  S.  D.  Deakin,  Birmingham. 

William  Stratford  Dugdale,  Esq.,  Merevale  Hall. 

Mr.  Wm.  Hy.  Deykin,  Edgbaston. 

Abraham  Dixon,  Esq.,  Birches  Green. 

George  Dixon,  Esq.,  Birmingham. 

Mr.  T.  S.  Eddowes,  Sutton  Coldfield. 

Mr.  Alfred  S.  Evans,  Edgbaston. 

Mr.  William  Fowler,  Erdington. 

Mr.  D.  J.  Fleetwood,  Birmingham. 

Mr.  Hy.  A.  Fry,  Birmingham. 

Joseph  Foster,  Birmingham. 

Edward  Gem,  Esq.,  Bellevue  House,  Halesowen. 

William  Gough,  Esq.,  Edgbaston. 

Mr.  William  M.  Gough,  Edgbaston. 

Mr.  James  Grundy,  Birmingham. 

Sampson  Hanbury,  Esq.,  Warley  Hall. 

Mr.  Vincent  Holbeche,  Sutton  Coldfield. 

Mr.  William  Hutton,  Ward  End  Hall. 

Timothy  Kenrick,  Esq.,  Edgbaston. 

Thomas  Lane,  Esq.,  Moundsley  Hall,  Kings  Norton. 

James  Lloyd,  Esq.,  ) 

Sampson  S.  Lloyd,  Esq.,     (    Partners  in  the  firm  of 

Thomas  Lloyd,  Esq.,  f  Lloyds  &  Co. 

Mr.  George  B.  Lloyd,  ) 

Mr.  Sampson  Lloyd,  Wednesbury. 

Mr.  Samuel  Lloyd,  Wednesbury. 

John  Towers  Lawrence,  Esq.,  Balsall  Heath. 

James  Moilliet,  Esq.,        )       of  the  firm  of 

Theodore  Moilliet  Esq.,  }    Moilliet  &  Sons. 

Mr.  McCallum,  Birmingham. 

Mr.  W.  G.  Postans,  Birmingham. 

Thomas  Piggott,  Esq.,  King's  Heath. 

Mr.  Joseph  Price,  Birmingham. 

Mr.  Henry  Richards,  Birmingham. 

Mr.  Thomas  Redfern,  Edgbaston. 

Rev.  P.  M.  Smythe,  Solihull. 

Mr.  Joseph  Small  wood,  Birmingham. 

Mr.  William  Southall,  Edgbaston. 

Mr.  Brooke  Smith,  Birmingham. 


214  APPENDIX   II 

Mr.  William  Sutton,  Birmingham. 

Mr.  Robert  Thomas,  Smethwick. 

W.  F.  Taylor,  Esq.,  Doveridge  Hall,  Uttoxeter. 

Mr.  Samuel  Timmins,  Birmingham. 

Mr.  F.  Timmins,  Birmingham. 

Mr.  Z.  Twamley,  Castle  Bromwich. 

Mr.  W.  M.  Warden,  Birmingham. 

Mr.  John  Wilkes,  Birmingham. 

With  power  to  add  to  their  number. 


SOLICITORS. 

Messrs.  GRIFFITHS  £  BLOXHAM,  6  Bennett's  Hill. 
Messrs.  RYLAND  &  MARTINEAU,  7  Cannon  Street. 
Messrs.  INGLEBY,  WRAGGE  £  EVANS,  4  Bennett's  Hill. 

BROKERS. 
Messrs.  J.  PEARSON  £  SONS,  Bennett's  Hill. 


PROSPECTUS. 

The  recent  alterations  in  the  Law  affecting  Banking  Partner- 
ships, and  the  growing  requirements  of  the  Trade  of  this  District, 
have  determined  Messrs.  Lloyds  &  Company  and  Messrs.  Moilliet 
and  Sons  to  extend  the  basis  of  their  present  Partnerships  by 
converting  them  into  a  Joint-Stock  Company  with  limited  liability. 

Arrangements  have  consequently  been  made  with  the  Provi- 
sional Committee  above  named,  on  behalf  of  themselves  and  such 
others  as  may  become  Shareholders,  for  the  formation  of  a  Company 
under  the  name,  and  with  the  Capital  appearing  at  the  head  of  this 
Prospectus. 

After  allotting  12,500  Shares  to  Messrs.  Lloyds  &  Company 
and  Messrs.  Moilliet  &  Sons,  it  is  proposed  to  issue  12,500  Snares 
at  a  Premium  of  £$  each,  and  this  it  is  estimated  will  raise  a  sum 
equal  to  the  amount  required  to  be  paid  for  the  purchase  of  the 
Goodwill,  so  that  the  whole  amount  to  be  received  for  Deposits  and 
subsequent  calls  may  be  available  for  the  purposes  of  the  Bank.  It 
is  proposed  that  the  remaining  15,000  Shares  shall  be  reserved  for 
issue  at  such  premiums,  at  such  times,  and  to  such  persons,  as  the 
Directors  shall  consider  most  conducive  to  the  Interests  of  the 
Company. 

The  Surplus  Premiums  (if  any)  not  required  for  the  payment  of 
the  Goodwill  will  be  carried  to  a  Reserve  Fund — and  it  is  intended 


APPENDIX    II  215 

that  until  such  Fund,  arising  from  this  source  and  from  profits, 
shall  amount  to  a  sum  equal  to  one-fifth  of  the  paid-up  Capital,  no 
Dividend  shall  be  made  exceeding  10  per  cent,  per  annum  on  the 
amount  of  paid-up  Capital.1 

A  Deposit  of  ^"5  a  Share  is  to  be  paid  on  allotment  in  addition 
to  the  Premium.  Further  Calls  are  not  to  exceed  at  one  time 
^"2,  i os.  a  Share,  and  are  not  to  be  made  at  less  intervals  than 
three  calendar  months.  The  aggregate  amount  of  Calls  will  not 
exceed  ^"12,  IDS.  a  Share;  the  remaining  ^37,  los.  a  Share  is  to 
be  available  only  for  the  ultimate  liabilities  of  the  Company. 

The  Business  of  the  Company  will  commence  as  from  the  ist  of 
May  1865,  or  as  soon  afterwards  as  may  be  practicable,  and  will 
for  the  present  be  carried  on  at  the  premises  occupied  by  Messrs. 
Lloyds  &  Company  and  Messrs.  Moilliet  &  Sons. 

The  Messrs.  Lloyds  and  Messrs.  James  Moilliet  and  Theodore 
Moilliet  will  retain  a  considerable  interest  in  the  Capital  of  the 
Company,  and  it  is  proposed  to  offer  them  Seats  on  the  Board  of 
Directors. 

The  Provisional  Committee  are  taking  the  necessary  steps  for 
the  Registration  of  the  Company.  They  will  make  the  first  Allot- 
ment of  Shares,  and  appoint  the  first  Directors. 

Applications  for  Shares  from  the  present  connections  of  the  two 
Banks  will  receive  especial  attention ;  in  dealing  with  applications 
from  other  persons,  preference  will  be  given  to  those  who  bring 
Accounts.  All  applications  must  be  made  in  the  Form,  of  which  a 
copy  is  annexed,  and  sent  to  the  Offices  of 

Messrs.  Griffiths  &  Bloxham, 


Messrs.  Ryland  &  Martineau,  (.  ^Solicitors, 

or 
Messrs.  Ingleby,  Wragge  &  Evans 

BIRMINGHAM,  29^  March  1865. 


or  (Birmingham. 

>  J 


1  The  conclusion  of  this  paragraph  differs  from  that  in  the  Prospectus  first 
issued,  which  did  not  correctly  express  the  intention  of  the  Promoters. 


THE    FIRST   REPORT   OF   THE    BANK. 


LLOYDS   BANKING  COMPANY  LIMITED. 

FOUNDED    ON 

The  Private  Banks  of  Messrs.  Lloyds  &  Co.  and  Messrs.  Moilliet 
and  Sons,  with  -which  have  subsequently  been  amalgamated  the 
Banks  of  Messrs.  P.  6r»  H.  Williams,  Wednesbury,  and  Messrs. 
Stevenson,  Salt  <5r*  Co.,  Stafford  and  Lichfield. 


Authorised  Capital  .          .          .      .£2,000,000      o      o 

Paid-tip  Capital  (3ist  Dec.  1865)     .  143,415      o      o 

Reserved  Fund  (3ist  Dec.  1865)     .  27>75°      2      6 


Directors. 

TIMOTHY  KENRICK,  Esq.,  Chairman. 

THOMAS  LLOYD,  Esq.,  Deputy-  SAMPSON  HANBURY,  Esq. 

Chairman.  SAMPSON  SAMUEL  LLOYD,  Esq. 

JOSEPH  CHAMBERLAIN,  Esq.  GEORGE  BRAITHWAITE  LLOYD, 
CHARLES  COUCHMAN,  Esq.  Esq. 

GEORGE  DIXON,  Esq.  JAMES  MOILLIET,  Esq. 

ALFRED  S.  EVANS,  Esq.  THOMAS  SALT,  Jun.,  Esq. 

EDWARD  GEM,  Esq.  HENRY  WILLIAMS,  Esq. 

Managing  Director. 
SAMPSON  SAMUEL  LLOYD,  Esq. 

Secretary. 

Mr.  HOWARD  LLOYD. 
216 


APPENDIX   II  217 

Sub-Managers. 
Mr.  J.  HICKLING.  Mr.  HOWARD  LLOYD. 

Head  Office :  HIGH  STREET,  BIRMINGHAM. 

Branches  (in  1865). 

Cherry  Street,  Birmingham— Mr.  THOMAS  EVANS. 
Stafford— Mr.  E.  DICKENSON.  Oldbury— Mr.  WILLIAM  JAGGER. 

Lichfield— Mr.  E.  C.  SEARGEANT.       Tamworth—  Mr.  W.  N.  FIELD. 
Wednesbury— Mr.  F.  DEAKIN. 


Sub-Branches  and  Agencies. 

BREWOOD,  COLESHILL,  ECCLESHALL,  HALESOWEN,  PENKRIDGE, 
RUGELEY,  and  SUTTON  COLDFIELD. 

LONDON  AGENTS— for  Birmingham,  Wednesbury,  Oldbury  and  Tam- 
worth :  Messrs.  BARNETTS,  HOARES,  HANBURYS  &  LLOYD  ; 
and  for  Stafford,  Lichfield,  Rugeley,  and  Eccleshall :  Messrs. 
STEVENSON,  SALT  &  SONS. 


CURRENT  ACCOUNTS  (whether  large  or  small)  are  received  and  con- 
ducted on  fair  and  liberal  terms. 

DEPOSITS  (of  any  amount  not  under  ^5)  are  received,  from  customers  or 
from  the  public,  on  favourable  terms,  the  rate  of  interest  allowed 
fluctuating  occasionally  with  the  value  of  money.  Persons  having 
current  accounts  can  at  any  time  transfer  a  portion  of  their  credit 
balance  to  deposit  account. 

LETTERS  OF  CREDIT  are  issued  upon  the  principal  places  in  England, 
Scotland  and  Ireland,  also  in  America,  Australia,  Van  Diemen's 
Land,  and  New  Zealand,  and  are  obtained  at  two  days'  notice  upon 
the  chief  cities  of  the  Continent. 

DIVIDENDS  on  all  descriptions  of  Government  and  other  Stock  are 
received.  The  Sale  and  Purchase  of  English  and  Foreign  Stocks 
and  Shares  effected,  and  every  other  description  of  Banking 
Business  transacted  on  liberal  terms. 


THE  FIRST  REPORT. 


REPORT    OF    THE    DIRECTORS 

OF 

LLOYDS    BANKING    COMPANY    LIMITED, 

TO    THE    SHAREHOLDERS, 

At  the  first  Ordinary  General  Meeting,  held  at  the  Exchange 

Assembly  Room,  Birmingham, 

On  Thursday,  the  fifteenth  of  February  1866,  at  Twelve 
o'clock  Noon. 


The  Directors  of  Lloyds  Banking  Company  Limited  have  great 
pleasure  in  laying  before  the  Shareholders,  on  the  occasion  of  their 
first  Ordinary  Meeting,  the  annexed  statement  of  the  Liabilities  and 
Assets  of  the  Bank  at  3ist  December  last. 

At  the  close  of  eight  months'  operations  in  Birmingham  and 
Oldbury,  and  five  months  in  Wednesbury,  the  Balance  in  favour  of 
the  Bank,  after  payment  of  all  charges,  expenses,  and  bad  debts,  is 
,£26,944,  i6s.  i id.,  and  the  amount  available,  after  providing  for 
contingencies,  rebate  of  bills,  and  two-thirds  of  the  preliminary 
expenses  (which  are  an  exceptional  charge)  is  .£18,323,  25.  gd. 

In  accordance  with  the  Articles  of  Association  which  provide 
that  so  long  as  the  Reserved  Fund  is  less  than  one-fifth  of  the  paid- 
up  Capital,  no  Dividend  shall  be  paid  exceeding  the  rate  of  ;£io 
per  cent,  per  annum,  your  Directors  recommend  that  ^8988,  os.  3d. 
be  appropriated  to  the  payment  of  a  Dividend  at  that  rate,  and 
that  the  remainder,  ^9335,  23.  6d.,  be  carried  to  the  Reserved 
Fund,  which  will  then  stand  at  .£27,750,  23.  6d. 

The  amount  of  business  done  has  much  increased  since  the 
amalgamation  of  the  three  private  Banks  which  formed  the  basis 
of  the  Company,  and  your  Directors  feel  that  they  may  congratulate 

218 


APPENDIX    II  219 

the  Shareholders  on  the  result,  which  has  exceeded  their  anticipa- 
tions, especially  as  the  state  of  the  Money  Market  during  the 
summer  months  was  by  no  means  favourable  to  Banking  operations. 

Since  the  last  General  Meeting,  a  branch  has  been  opened  in 
the  town  of  Tamworth,  which  your  Directors  have  reason  to  be- 
lieve will  prove  beneficial. 

Your  Directors  have  the  satisfaction  to  report  that  they  have 
concluded  an  agreement  with  the  well-known  and  old-established 
firm  of  Messrs.  Stevenson,  Salt  &  Company  for  the  amalgamation 
with  this  Company  of  their  Banking  Business  at  Stafford,  Lichfield, 
Rugeley,  and  Eccleshall,  and  that  this  agreement  has  had  the 
unanimous  approval  of  the  Extraordinary  General  Meeting  held  on 
3ist  January  last.  It  will  be  again  submitted  to  you  for  final 
confirmation  after  the  close  of  the  Ordinary  General  Meeting. 

In  the  opinion  of  your  Directors  this  extension  of  business 
should  be  accompanied  by  some  enlargement  of  Capital,  and  after 
careful  consideration  they  have  decided  to  recommend  a  further 
issue  of  Shares  in  the  proportion  of  one  in  ten  to  the  proprietors  of 
all  Shares  issued  previously  to  3ist  December  last. 

Your  Directors  recommend  that  on  this  occasion  the  issue  be 
made  at  a  premium  of  £6  per  Share. 

The  Directors  who  retire  by  rotation  are  Messrs.  Joseph 
Chamberlain,  Charles  Couchman,  George  Dixon,  and  George 
Braithwaite  Lloyd;  they  are  all  eligible,  and  offer  themselves  for 
re-election. 

The  Auditor,  Mr.  Edwin  Laundy,  also  retires,  but  is  eligible  for 
re-election. 

The  Dividend  will  be  payable  on  the  igih  instant,  free  of 
income  tax. 

TIMOTHY  KENRICK,  Chairman. 
BIRMINGHAM,  gth  Febrtiary  1866. 


THE  FIRST  BALANCE  SHEET  OF  THE   BANK, 


STATEMENT  OF  LIABILITIES  AND  ASSETS, 
ON  3 IST  DECEMBER  1865. 


LIABILITIES. 

Amount  of  Capital  paid  up          .....  .£143,415     o  o 

Amount  due  on  Deposit,  Current,  and  other  Accounts  1,166,160    6  7 

Reserved  Fund 18,415     o  o 

Profit  and  Loss 18,323     2  9 

£1*346,313     9  4 

ASSETS. 

Cash  in  hand  and  at  Agents ,£126,170  16  7 

Bills  of  Exchange         .......  655,435   19  2 

Advances   on   Current  Accounts,   Loans   on  Stock, 

Purchase  Account,  and  other  Securities        .         .  556,115   17  4 

Bank  Premises.  Furniture,  Fittings,  &c.      .         .         .  8,054  18  o 

Preliminary  Expenses  (less  amount  written  off)          .  535  18  3 

.£1,346,313     9  4 


HOWARD    LLOYD,   Secretary. 

I  hereby  certify  that  I  have  Audited  the  Accounts  of  the  Company, 
and  that  the  above  Statement  correctly  sets  forth  the  position  of  its 
affairs  on  3ist  December  1865. 

EDWIN    LAUNDY,   Public  Accountant, 
A  uditor. 


At  this  time  the  number  of  Offices  was  13  ;  the  Staff  consisted  of 
50  ;  and  there  were  865  Shareholders.  There  are  now  in  1906  over 
19,000  Shareholders. 


POSITION  OF  THE  BANK  AT  3iST  DECEMBER 

1883, 

SHORTLY  BEFORE  THE  FIRST  LONDON 
AMALGAMATIONS. 


LLOYDS  BANKING  COMPANY  LIMITED. 

Subscribed  Capital    ....       .£3,062,500 

In  61,250  Shares  of  £50  each. 

Capital  paid  up  (61,250  Shares,  .£8  paid)    .£490,000 
Reserved  Fund          .         .          .          .          £300,000 


Directors. 

SAMPSON  SAMUEL  LLOYD,  Esq.,  Chairman. 

THOMAS  SALT,  Esq.,  M.P.,  Deputy-Chairman. 
WILLIAM  COPE,  Esq.  JOHN  GULSON,  Esq. 

CHARLES  COUCHMAN,  Esq.        J.  ARTHUR  KENRICK,  Esq. 
WM.  FLEEMING  FRYER,  Esq.      THOMAS  LLOYD,  Esq. 
EDWARD  GEM,  Esq.  GEORGE  BRAITHWAITE  LLOYD,  Esq. 

JOHN  SPENCER  PHILLIPS,  Esq. 


General  Manager. 
Mr.  HOWARD  LLOYD. 


Secretary. 
Mr.  HENRY  MORTIMORE. 


Head  Office:  COLMORE  Row,  BIRMINGHAM. 

221 


222 


APPENDIX    II 


POSITION   IN    1883. 


BRANCH.                          MANAGER. 

Birmingham  — 
Colmore  Row      Mr.  Francis  C.  Bourne 
High  Street         Mr.  John  Hickling 
Aston  Road         Mr.  Charles  P.  Newman 
Deritend               Mr.  Wm.  H.  Fletcher 
Five  Ways           Mr.  John  Willis 
Gt.  Hampton  St.  Mr.  James  Matthew 
Burton-on-  Trent   Mr.  Octavius  Leatham 
Cannock                Mr.  Charles  Harper 
Coventry                 Mr.  Harry  B.  Francis 
Dudley                   Mr.  George  Wilkinson 
Great  Bridge         Mr.  Frank  H.  Ragg 
Halesowen             Mr.  Frederic  D.  Nutt 
Hanley                   Mr.  Fredk.  S.  Stringer 
Ironbridge              Mr.  Thomas  Powell 
Leamington           Mr.  Edward  Seymour 
Lichfield                 Mr.  Wm.  B.  Wordsworth 
Longton                 Mr.  Henry  C.  Ramsdale 
Newport  (Salop)  Mr.  Wingfield  Dickenson 

BRANCH.                        MANAGER. 

Oldbury                  Mr.  John  Y.  Anderson 
Rugby                     Mr.  Arthur  R.  Cox 
Rugeley                   Mr.  Arthur  H.  Pratt 
Shifnal                    Mr.  John  Harrison 
Shrewsbury             Mr.  John  F.  Champion 
Smethwick              Mr.  John  A.  Goode 
Stafford                   Mr.  EdwinC.  Seargeant 
Stratford-on-Avon  Mr.  J.  Dixon  Taylor 
Tamworth              Mr.  Charles  Hensman 
Walsall                    Mr.  Andrew  McKean 
Warwick                 Mr.  William  Tims 
Wednesbury           Mr.  Walter  Blackburn 
Wellington  (Salop)  Mr.  John  Kynoch 
Welshpool              Mr.  Matthew  Powell 
West  Bromwich     Mr.  John  Y.  Anderson, 
pro  tern. 
Whitchurch            Mr.  John  Rogers 
Wolverhampton     Mr.  R.  Fryer  Morson 

BLOXWICH 
BREWOOD 

COLESHILL 


Sub- Branches  and  Agencies. 


DAWLEY 

ECCLESHALL 

ELLESMERE 

SUTTON 


HEDNESFORD 
MOSELEY 
OAKENGATES 
COLDFIELD 


PENKRIDGE 
SOLIHULL 

SOUTHAM 


London  Agents. 

For  Birmingham,  Coventry,  Dudley,  Great  Bridge,  Halesowen,  Leam- 
ington, Oldbury,  Rugby,  Smethwick,  Stratford-on-Avon,  Tamworth, 
Walsall,  Warwick,  Wednesbury,  West  Bromwich  and  Wolver- 
hampton : — 

Messrs.  BARNETTS,  HOARES,  HANBURY  &  LLOYD. 

For  Burton-on-Trent,  Cannock,  Hanley,  Ironbridge,  Lichfield,  Longton, 
Newport,  Rugeley,  Shifnal,  Shrewsbury,  Stafford,  Wellington, 
Welshpool  and  Whitchurch  : — 

Messrs.  BOSANQUET,  SALT  &  Co. 


THE    BALANCE    SHEET    PRECEDING    THE 
FIRST  LONDON  AMALGAMATIONS. 

STATEMENT  OF  LIABILITIES  AND  ASSETS 
ON  3 IST  DECEMBER  1883. 


LIABILITIES. 
Subscribed  Capital  (being  61,250  Shares  of  £"50  each)    .£3,062,500    o    o 


Capital  called  up,  viz.  : — 

61,250  Shares  at  .£8  per  Share      .... 
Amount  due  on  Deposit,  Current,  and  other  Accounts 

Reserved  Fund 

Profit    (including    ^5483,   i8s.  2d. 

brought  forward  from  last  year)   .     ,£102,969    o     7 
Less  Interim  Dividend  for  half-year 

ending  3oth  June,  at  20  per  cent. 

per  annum 


Balance,  proposed  to 
be  appropriated 
as  follows  : — 

In  Payment  of  half- 
year's  Dividend 
to  31  st  December 
at  20  per  cent, 
per  annum  .  £49,000  o  o 

To  be  carried  for- 
ward to  next  year  4,969  o  7 


49,000    o    o 
£53,969     o     7 


£490,000    o    o 

6,467,497  19    9 

300,000    o    o 


53,969    o    7 
,£7,311,467    o    4 


223 


224  .APPENDIX    II 


ASSETS. 

Cash  in  hand,  at  Agents,  at  Call,  and  at  Short  Notice  ,£1,139.981     5  4 

Bills  of  Exchange 1,326,426     5  o 

Consols,  India  Stock,  and  other  Government  Securi- 
ties (,£686,205,  is.   4d.),   Colonial   Government, 

Railway,  Freehold,  and  other  Investments  .         .  1,470,112  15  6 

Advances,  Promissory  Notes,  Loans  on  Security,  &c.  3,227,397  16  4 

Bank  Premises  and  Furniture 147,548  18  2 

£7,311,467    o    4 

HOWARD  LLOYD,  General  Manager. 

We  hereby  certify  that  we  have  audited  the  Accounts  of  the  Com- 
pany, and  that  the  above  Statement  correctly  sets  forth  the  position  of 
its  affairs  on  the  3ist  day  of  December  1883. 

LAUNDY  &  CO.,  Chartered  Accountants, 
Auditors. 

The  profits  were  ,£97,000  ;  Offices,  49  ;  Staff,  520  ;  Shareholders, 
about  1750. 


BALANCE  SHEET,  3IST  DECEMBER   1906. 


LIABILITIES. 

Current,  Deposit,  and  other  Accounts,  including 
Rebate  of  Bills  and  provision  for  Contin- 
gencies   ^63,587,931  15  6 

Profit  and  Loss  Balance,  as  per  Account  below    .  428,683     5     9 

^64,016,615     i     3 

Bills  Accepted  or  Endorsed 4,852,666     3    7 

Liabilities  in  respect  of  Customers'  Loans  to 
Brokers,  fully  secured      .        .        .  ^341,500 

Capital  paid  up,  viz.,  481,450  Shares  of  ^50  each, 

^8  per  Share  paid 3,851,600    o    o 

Reserve  Fund 2,950,000    o    o 

^75,670,881     4  10 


ASSETS. 

Cash  in  hand  and  with  the  Bank  of  England    .         .  ,£10,971,975  18     8 

Cash  at  Call  and  Short  Notice 4,008,849     5     9 

Bills  of  Exchange 7,516,567  16  n 

Consols    (at    85)    and    other    British    Government 

Securities 6,946,794    9     5 

Indian  and  Colonial  Government   Securities,  Cor- 
poration   Stocks,    English    Railway    Debenture 

and  Preference  Stocks,  and  other  Investments    .  5,101,736  14    o 

^34,545.924    4    9 

Advances  to  Customers  and  other  Securities      .        .  34,577,069     i     2 
Liabilities  of  Customers  for  Bills  Accepted  or  En- 
dorsed by  the  Company 4,852,666    3     7 

Bank  Premises 1,695,221  15    4 

^75,670,881     4  10 

225  P 


I 
226 


•APPENDIX    II 


PROFIT  AND  LOSS  ACCOUNT  FOR  THE  YEAR  ENDED 
3iST  DECEMBER  1906. 

Dr. 

To  Interim  Dividend  for  Half-year  ended  3oth  June, 
at  17^  per  cent,  per  annum 

Reserve  Fund        ........ 

Bank  Premises  Account 

Income  Tax 

Half-year's  Dividend  to  3ist  Decem- 
ber, at  i8|  per  cent,  per  annum    .     .£361,087  10    o 

Balance  carried  forward  to  next  year          67,595  15     9 


50,000 
35,000 
39,155 


428,683    5 
^889,853    8 


Cr. 

By  Balance  brought  forward  from  last  year  . 

Net  Profit   for  the  year,  after  making   provision 
for  Rebate,  Bad  Debts,  and  Contingencies 


,£59,048  16    6 

830,804  ii     9 
.£889,853    8     3 


E.  ALEXANDER  DUFF,  General  Manager. 

7   t  Country  General  Managers. 


AUDITORS'   CERTIFICATE  AND   REPORT. 

In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  Companies  Act,  1900,  we 
certify  that  all  our  requirements  as  Auditors  have  been  complied  with. 

We  have  examined  the  above  Balance  Sheet  with  the  Accounts  of 
the  Company,  including  the  Certified  Returns  from  the  Branches  ;  and, 
having  satisfied  ourselves  as  to  the  correctness  of  the  Cash  and  Invest- 
ments, and  considered  in  detail  the  other  items  of  the  Account,  we  are  of 
opinion  that  such  Balance  Sheet  is  properly  drawn  up  so  as  to  exhibit 
a  true  and  correct  view  of  the  state  of  the  Company's  affairs  on  the 
3ist  December  1906,  as  shown  by  the  books  of  the  Company. 

PRICE,  WATERHOUSE  &  Co.,  Chartered 

A  ccountants,  A  uditors. 
nth  January  1907. 


REPORT    OF   THE    DIRECTORS, 

To  be  presented  to  the  Shareholders  at  the  Forty-ninth  Ordinary 
General  Meeting,  to  be  held  at  the  Grand  Hotel,  Colmore 
Row,  Birmingham,  on  Friday,  the  Twenty-fifth  day  of  January 
1907,  at  i 


Your  Directors  present  herewith  a  Statement  of  the  Liabilities 
and  Assets  of  the  Company  on  the  3ist  day  of  December  last. 

The  available  Profit  for  the  past  year,  including  the  amount 
brought  forward,  after  payment  of  Salaries,  Pensions,  other  charges 
and  expenses,  and  the  annual  contribution  of  £4500  to  the 
Provident  and  Insurance  Fund,  and  making  full  provision  for 
Rebate,  Bad  Debts,  and  Contingencies,  is  £889,853,  8s.  3d. 

Out  of  this  an  Interim  Dividend  at  the  rate  of  i;J  per  cent, 
per  annum,  free  of  Income  Tax,  amounting  to  .£337,015,  was  paid 
for  the  half-year  ended  the  3oth  day  of  June  last;  £50,000  has 
been  added  to  the  Reserve  Fund;  £35,000  has  been  written  off 
the  Bank  Premises  Account;  and  .£39,1555  23.  6d.  has  been 
applied  in  payment  of  Income  Tax  on  the  Dividends,  &c. 

From  the  balance  remaining,  £428,683,  55.  gd.,  your  Directors 
recommend  that  a  Dividend  of  153.  per  share,  being  at  the  rate 
of  i8J  per  cent,  per  annum  for  the  past  half-year,  amounting 
to  £361,087,  i os.  od.,  be  now  declared,  and  that  the  balance, 
£67,595,  T5S-  9d-»  be  carried  forward  to  the  Profit  and  Loss  Account 
of  the  present  year. 

The  amalgamation  of  the  Devon  and  Cornwall  Banking  Com- 
pany Limited  with  this  Bank,  alluded  to  in  the  last  Report,  has 
been  carried  through,  and  has  proved  mutually  satisfactory. 

The  Directors  who  retire  at  this  meeting  are  Messrs.  Richard 
Hobson,  J.  Arthur  Kenrick,  and  Edward  Nettlefold.  They  are 
all  eligible,  and  offer  themselves  for  re-election. 

The  Auditors  also  retire,  and  are  eligible  for  re-appointment. 

The  Dividend  will  be  payable  on  and  after  the  2gth  instant, 
free  of  Income  Tax. 

J.  SPENCER  PHILLIPS,   Chairman. 

nth  January  1907. 

I  append  an  abridged  report  (from  the  Birmingham  Daily 

Post)   of  the   last  annual   meeting    of  Lloyds   Bank,   which 

227, 


228  'APPENDIX   II 

was  held  on  January  25,  1907,  at  the  Grand  Hotel,  Birming- 
ham, under  the  presidency  of  Mr.  J.  Spencer  Phillips,  chair- 
man of  the  bank. 

There  was  a  large  attendance  of  shareholders.  The 
Chairman,  in  moving  the  adoption  of  the  report  and  the 
declaration  of  the  dividend,  said  the  year  1906  had  been 
remarkable  for  its  commercial  prosperity,  activity  of  trade, 
and  advance  in  price  of  commodities.  We  had  had  nothing 
like  it  for  nearly  thirty  years,  and  it  had  been  the  result  of  a 
variety  of  causes  all  making  for  the  same  end.  For  the  first 
time  for  seven  years  we  had  had  general  peace  throughout  the 
world.  .  .  .  How  great  the  general  prosperity  had  been  was 
shown  by  all  the  figures  which  bore  on  the  trade  of  the  country. 
Our  foreign  trade  had  for  the  first  time  on  record  exceeded 
IOOO  millions  sterling.  Imports  had  increased  by  £42,968,000, 
or  7.8  per  cent.,  and  exports  by  £45,856,000,  or  13.9  per  cent. 
And  those  increases  were  on  the  year  1905,  which  greatly 
exceeded  the  predecessor.  What  was  more  satisfactory  was 
the  fact  that  not  only  was  the  percentage  of  the  increase 
of  the  exports  nearly  double  that  of  the  imports,  but  the 
actual  amount  was  £3,000,000  more.  The  increase  in  im- 
ports had  been  mainly  in  raw  material  and  unmanufactured 
articles,  which  accounted  for  £29,000,000  out  of  £42,000,000, 
or  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  whole ;  whilst  the  gain  in 
exports  had  been  almost  entirely  in  manufactured  articles, 
particularly  iron  and  steel — £36,000,000  out  of  £45,000,000. 
Our  exports  during  the  last  three  years — since  1903 — had 
grown  no  less  than  £85,000,000,  or  29  per  cent.,  and  the 
exports  of  the  United  States,  which  also  had  increased 
23  per  cent,  during  the  same  period,  were  less  in  the  aggre- 
gate than  our  own  by  some  seven  millions.  .  .  .  The  average 
Bank  rate  had  been  £4,  55.  3d.,  as  against  £3,  os.  3d.  for 
1905.  .  .  .  They  had  360  branches  and  162  sub-branches, 
making  a  total  of  522.  Their  staff  numbered  2623,  and 
their  shareholders  19,200.  The  number  of  their  accounts 
had  increased  by  11,123  during  the  year,  after  allowing  for 
the  Devon  and  Cornwall  amalgamation.  Their  pensioners 
numbered  178,  and  the  amount  of  pensions  they  paid  during 
the  year  was  £41,280,  an  increase  over  the  previous  year 
°f  £76?>7,  of  which  £3824  was  due  to  the  Devon  and 
Cornwall  amalgamation.  As  he  had  so  often  explained,  their 
policy  was  that  profit  came  second,  and  a  long  way  second, 


APPENDIX   II  229 

to  safety  and  strength;  and  if  they  had  less  regard  to  the 
latter  consideration  they  could  increase  the  former  by  30 
per  cent,  to  50  per  cent.  He  concluded  his  speech  last 
January  by  saying,  in  reference  to  1904,  that  the  balance 
sheet  then  presented  was  the  strongest  they  had  ever 
shown.  He  thought  they  might  honestly  say  that  the  pre- 
sent one  was  stronger  still.  (Applause.) 

Mr.  J.  A.  Kenrick,  in  seconding  the  resolution,  said  that 
the  Chairman,  who  had,  as  usual,  given  them  a  masterly 
and  illuminating  address,  had  been  elected  president  of  the 
Institute  of  Bankers  for  three  consecutive  years,  an  honour 
which  had  not  been  accorded  to  any  previous  president, 
and  his  presidential  addresses  had  caused  so  much  interest 
that  the  Governor  and  ex-Governor  of  the  Bank  of  England 
paid  him  the  unique  compliment  of  being  present  to  listen 
to  the  last  address.  Under  the  wise  and  sagacious  policy 
of  the  Chairman,  backed  up  by  the  Directors  and  a  zealous 
staff,  the  bank,  which  was  without  exception  the  largest  in 
the  kingdom,  was  steadily  growing  in  good  repute  and 
prosperity,  and  they  could  look  forward  with  confidence 
and  assurance  that  its  future  would  be  as  satisfactory  as 
its  past.  (Applause.)  A  vote  of  thanks  was  accorded  the 
Chairman  and  the  Directors  for  their  services,  and  in  acknow- 
ledging it  the  Chairman  mentioned  that  on  no  occasion  during 
the  eleven  years  he  had  presided  over  the  meetings  had  any 
question  been  asked  him  by  a  shareholder. — A  vote  of  thanks 
to  the  general  manager,  the  country  general  manager,  and  the 
staff  concluded  the  business. 


APPENDIX     III 

OPENING   OF   THE   BIRMINGHAM   EXCHANGE 

IN    1865 

MR.  S.  S.  LLOYD  was  one  of  the  speakers  at  the  opening  of 
the  Exchange  Buildings  in  Stephenson  Place,  Birmingham,  on 
New  Year's  Day  1865.  The  construction  of  the  Exchange 
was  greatly  needed,  and  it  has  proved  an  immense  con- 
venience to  the  mercantile  community  of  Birmingham  and 
South  Staffordshire.  After  prayer  had  been  offered  by  the 
Rector  of  St.  Martin's  (the  Rev.  J.  C.  Miller,  D.D.),  giving 
especial  thanks  for  the  many  blessings  the  Almighty  had  per- 
mitted us  to  enjoy  in  this  land,  and  after  speeches  by  the 
Mayor,  Alderman  Thomas  Lloyd,  and  others,  John  Bright 
(then  M.P.  for  Birmingham  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Scholefield) 
having  spoken,  Mr.  S.  S.  Lloyd  followed  by  proposing  the 
Members  for  the  Northern  Division  of  the  County  (Messrs. 
Newdegate  and  Bromley-Davenport).1 

These  gentlemen,  he  said,  were  too  well  known — the  senior 
member  at  least — to  need  any  words  of  commendation  from 
him.  They  represented  a  peculiar  constituency  of  mixed 
interests — of  agriculture  and  manufacture.  They  represent 
a  community  in  which  widely  different  views  are  held  on 
political  subjects;  and  it  was  all  the  more  interesting  a  con- 
stituency, he  should  think,  for  Members  of  Parliament  to 
represent  on  that  account.  They  had  been  told  by  their 
respected  and  most  able  junior  borough  member  (Mr.  Bright) 
that  industrial  success  waxed  and  monarchs'  power  waned. 
Now  he  trusted  he  would  be  permitted  to  say  that  the  com- 
merce of  this  country,  and  the  industrial  interests  of  this  town, 
which  had  waxed  almost  more  than  history  gave  any  example 

1  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Wm.   Wright  of  Moseley  for  the  report  of  this 
speech,  which  was  given  in  the  Birmingham  Daily  Post  of  January  2,  1865. 

230 


APPENDIX    III  231 

of,  were  a  very  good  example  of  commercial  interests  waxing 
while  the  monarchs'  power  did  not  wane.  ("  Hear,  hear,"  and 
applause.)  By  no  class  of  her  Majesty's  subjects  was  her 
Majesty's  rule — mild,  constitutional,  and  benignant — more 
honoured  and  more  valued  than  by  the  commercial  men  of 
this  district.  ("  Hear,  hear,"  and  applause.) 

The  hon.  gentleman  had  told  them  truly  of  Phoenicia, 
Carthage,  and  the  republics  of  North  Italy;  and  with  his 
usual  eloquence  he  had  descanted  on  the  fact  that  their  great- 
ness arose  from  commerce,  but  he  (Mr.  Lloyd)  thought,  while 
listening  to  his  eloquent  tongue,  that  he  had  also  read  in 
history  that  their  prosperity,  instead  of  waxing  and  remaining 
permanent,  very  soon  waned,  and  that  the  republics  of  North 
Italy  soon  degenerated  into  the  worst  of  despotism.  ("  Hear, 
hear,"  and  applause.)  Carthage  and  Phoenicia  are  gone ; 
and  though,  as  the  hon.  gentleman  had  said,  they  had  left 
their  mark  behind  them,  they  had  left  a  most  telling  mark 
that  no  wealth  they  got  by  commerce,  attended  merely  by 
democratic  liberties,  afforded  a  security  for  the  stability  of 
either  commerce  or  liberty — ("  Hear,  hear,"  and  applause,  and 
demonstrations  of  dissent) — and  that  security  for  commerce 
as  well  as  for  true  liberty  were  best  to  be  found  in  our  own 
constitutional  limited  monarchy.  (Applause.) 

One  other  remark  was  made  by  the  hon.  gentleman — viz., 
that  the  liberties  of  the  nation  did  not  come  from  the  lords  of 
the  soil.  Now  he  thought  they  had  all  read,  when  schoolboys, 
of  the  barons  of  England  who  wrung  the  Magna  Charta  from 
the  reluctant  King  John,  and  when  they  might  have  sought 
liberties  and  franchises  for  themselves,  were  generous  and 
noble  enough  to  value  the  liberties  of  their  poorer  fellow- 
countrymen,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  our  magnificent  system 
of  liberty.  ("  Hear,  hear.")  He  also  thought  that  he  had  read 
in  history  of  a  time  when  Lord  Essex  and  Lord  Brook  were 
found  fighting  in  the  army  of  Cromwell,  and  when  John 
Hampden  (he  did  not  know  whether  he  was  a  merchant  or 
not)  led  forth  the  freeholders  of  Buckingham  to  do  battle  for 
liberty  against  the  arbitrary  power  of  the  Crown.  But,  as 
he  had  said,  they  could  not  all  agree  about  these  things.  He 
was  afraid  that  even  the  members  for  the  northern  division 
of  the  county,  whose  health  he  had  the  honour  to  pro- 
pose, did  not  agree  with  his  views  of  the  subject ;  but  their 
senior  county  member  had  represented  them  more  than  twenty 
years. 


232  APPENDIX    III 

Mr.  Scholefield  had  gracefully  said  what  every  gentleman 
felt  in  that  room  about  Mr.  Newdegate.  He  was  the  inheritor 
of  an  old  ancestral  name,  though  they  did  not  think  in  Bir- 
mingham that  everything  depended  upon  that.  Agriculture 
was  indebted  to  him  for  his  devoted  attention  to  the  farming 
interest ;  and  commerce  was  under  no  less  obligations  to  him 
as  the  author  of  a  most  valuable  book  on  the  world's  tariffs, 
which  he  brought  out  at  a  time  when  her  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment did  not  think  it  worth  while  to  give  the  country  such 
a  work.  Mr.  Newdegate  devoted  his  leisure  hours — and  no 
doubt  midnight  often  witnessed  his  labours — in  compiling  the 
work  he  had  referred  to,  which  had  ever  since  been  a  standard 
work  on  the  subject.  He  was  also  distinguished  for  another 
thing.  He  was  the  stern  opponent  of  Government  monopoly 
in  manufacture,  and  he  was  glad  to  see  that  Mr.  Cobden,  with 
his  great  powers  of  eloquence  and  weight  of  character,  had 
taken  the  subject  up,  and  in  his  hands,  no  doubt,  some  power- 
ful opposition  would  be  made  to  the  system  ;  but  they  must  do 
honour  to  whom  honour  was  due.  To  Mr.  Newdegate  they 
were  indebted  for  making  a  stand  when  no  one  else  stood 
up  against  the  system  of  Government  monopoly.  They  were 
also  obliged  to  him  for  the  readiness,  affability,  and  courtesy 
with  which  he  attended  to  the  interests  of  all  who  had  re- 
course to  his  assistance,  whether  friends  or  opponents  in  the 
political  sense. 

Their  junior  member  for  the  northern  division  of  the  county 
came  before  them,  and  he  was  sure  they  were  all  very  glad  to 
see  him.  Though  a  comparatively  untried  man,  he  was  not  un- 
tried in  good  works.  Though  not  past  middle  age,  he  had  what 
our  great  poet  told  them  they  ought  to  have — "Love,  honour, 
and  troops  of  friends."  He  was  old  enough  to  remember 
when  both  their  senior  county  member  and  senior  borough 
member  stood  on  the  hustings  as  untried  men.  Yet  they  saw 
what  they  had  done.  By  a  policy  of  conciliation  they  had 
made  themselves  universally  respected  in  both  town  and  dis- 
trict, and  had  acquired  no  mean  position  for  themselves  in 
the  House  of  Commons.  This  might  assure  them  and  their 
junior  member  that  no  man,  however  highly  and  conscien- 
tiously party  feeling  might  run  at  or  before  ~an  election,  and 
however  strongly  they  might  venture  to  try  and  turn  out 
those  from  whom  they  might  differ,  yet  when  once  a  man 
was  lawfully  elected,  the  Warwickshire  constituency  might 
be  depended  upon  to  regard  all  acts  as  bond  fide  endeavour 


APPENDIX    III  233 

to  do  his  duty,  and  to  interpret  them  in  the  most  liberal 
manner,  and  that  he  would  always  find,  consistently  with  the 
conscientious  views  of  gentlemen,  the  most  cordial  and  frank 
support  in  endeavouring  to  do  that  duty.  With  these  words 
he  proposed  the  health  of  the  members  of  the  northern  division 
of  Warwickshire.  (Applause.) 


NOTE 

Thomas  Pemberton,  junior,  whose  portrait  faces  p.  42,  accom- 
panied the  London  visitors  to  the  slitting-mill,  referred  to  on  pp. 
25-26 ;  he  also  formed  one  of  the  party  mentioned  on  p.  43. 

He  was  the  son  of  Thomas  Pemberton,  whose  father  married 
Elizabeth,  eldest  child  of  the  first  Sampson  Lloyd  (p.  95). 


APPENDIX    IV 

CHARLES  LLOYD'S  IMPRISONMENT  WAS  ENDED 
BY  THE  DECLARATION  OF ,  INDULGENCE  BY 
CHARLES  II.  ON  MARCH  15,  1672 

COMMENTING  upon  this  George  Tangye  tells  me  that  though 
I  correctly  state  at  page  n  that  those  liberated  were  chiefly 
Friends,  it  might  be  of  interest  to  mention  that  John  Bunyan 
was  liberated  at  the  same  time,  and  how  this  came  to  pass. 

No  doubt  many  like  myself  have  been  to  "  Boscobel," 
and  have  seen  the  secret  rooms  in  the  house  and  the  fine 
oak-tree  up  which  the  young  King  Charles  II.  climbed,  dis- 
guised as  a  wood-cutter,  to  elude  his  pursuers  after  the 
battle  of  Worcester  in  1651.  He  escaped,  but  found  another 
difficulty ;  for  when  he  reached  the  English  Channel  with  his 
companion,  Lord  Wilmot,  he  was  in  mortal  terror  of  being 
betrayed  and  brought  back  to  suffer  like  Charles  I.  He  was, 
however,  told  that  he  might  trust  himself  to  two  or  three 
Quaker  sailors  who,  having  promised  to  carry  him  to  their 
sailing  vessel,  might  be  trusted  to  do  so.  When  the  boat 
had  crossed  the  Channel  and  had  reached  shallow  water, 
the  king  was  carried  through  the  waves  on  the  shoulders  of 
a  Quaker,  Richard  Carver  by  name.1  Twenty  years  later, 
ten  years  after  Charles  II.  had  been  made  king,  Carver 
appeared  at  Court,  when  the  king  at  once  recognised  him,  and 
asked  why  he  had  not  sought  a  recompense  before !  Carver 
replied  :  "  Sire,  I  ask  nothing  for  myself,  but  that  your  Majesty 
would  do  the  same  for  my  friends  that  I  did  for  you."  The 
king  offered  to  release  any  six.  Offer  says  we  may  imagine 
the  sailor's  blunt  answer:  "What?  six  poor  Quakers  for  a 

1  Corroborative  evidence  is  preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  Society  of  Friends 
at  Devonshire  House,  London. 

235* 


236*  APPENDIX    IV 

king's  ransom !  ! "  His  Majesty  invited  him  to  come  again, 
when,  after  some  persuasion,  the  king  agreed  to  release 
471  Quakers  in  jail  at  the  time.1 

Although  they  had  been  much  reviled  by  other  Dissenters, 
and  the  king's  intended  pardon  did  not  extend  to  any  but 
Quakers,  they  asked  that  twenty  others  might  be  included  in 
the  pardon.  The  king  conceded  this,  with  the  result  that 
twenty  other  Dissenters  were  released,  amongst  them  John 
Bunyan,  who  in  1660  was  imprisoned  and  still  remained  in 
Bedford  jail.2 

About  as  many  Quakers  had  already  perished  in  jail  as 
those  who  were  thus  released. 

I  was  travelling  one  day  with  the  General  of  the  Salvation 
Army,  shortly  after  he  and  Mrs.  Booth  had  been  staying  for 
a  few  days  with  us  at  Farm,  when  he  referred  to  the 
restoration  of  Charles  II.,  and  how  he  had  rewarded  those 
who  had  been  true  to  him.  "  How  immeasurably  more,"  said 
the  General,  "  will  the  Almighty  reward  those  who  have 
been  true  to  Him."  This  theme  was  uppermost  in  his  mind, 
and  if  a  large  congregation  had  been  present,  he  no  doubt 
would  have  spoken  most  impressively. 


THE   FRIENDS'   BURIAL-GROUND 

At  page  15  reference  is  made  to  Mary  Gill's  rich  brown 
hair  having  remained  unchanged  for  a  very  long  period  after 
burial.  It  was  G.  B.  Lloyd,  senior,  who  became  possessed  of 
a  portion  of  it ;  he  had  also  some  of  the  hair  of  Rachel  Lloyd 
(n£e  Champion),  who  was  buried  in  1756  in  this  Bull  Lane 
burial-ground.  When  the  burial-ground  was  taken  over  by 
the  Great  Western  Railway  in  1851,  it  was  found  that  her 
hair  remained  perfect  after  ninety-five  years'  burial,  but  the 
wood  of  the  coffin  had  decayed.  The  hair  still  exists  as 
perfect  as  then  found,  and  is  in  the  possession  of  G.  B.  Lloyd 
senior's  grandson,  J.  H.  Lloyd. 

1  Offer's  complete   edition  of  Bunyan's   works,  p.  xci.  of  the  Memoir  pre- 
fixed to  the  1862  edition  (pp.  i.-cxxiii.).    This  Memoir  is  not  in  the  1861  edition. 

2  The  relation  of  the  imprisonment  (vol.  i.  of  the  works  of  John  Bunyan,  by 
Geo.  Offer,  p.  50)  is  worth  reading.     Macaulay  wrote  there  were  only  two  great 
creative  minds  in   the  latter  half  of  the  seventeenth  century :   one  produced 
Paradise  Lost,  the  other  the  Pilgrim's  Progress. 


APPENDIX    IV  237' 


LIKENESS   OF   S.   T.   COLERIDGE   (page  150) 

Coleridge  took  a  kindly  interest  in  Charles  Lloyd,  the  poet, 
when  he  came  to  Birmingham  in  1796  (p.  148),  and  after  he 
had  been  with  him  for  a  short  time  as  his  pupil  he  wrote  to  his 
father:  "Your  son  and  I  are  happy  in  our  connection;  our 
opinions  and  feelings  are  as  nearly  alike  as  we  can  expect." 

Much  of  course  happened  between  that  date  and  Cole- 
ridge's death  thirty-eight  years  afterwards,  but  this  early 
friendship  causes  me  to  insert  a  likeness  of  Coleridge  with 
the  permission  of  T.  C.  &  E.  C.  Jack  of  Edinburgh,  the 
publishers  of  an  attractive  little  book  of  his  poems ;  and  if 
we  open  Molesworth's  History  of  England,  1830-74,  in  three 
volumes,1  we  find  amongst  other  things  recorded  as  taking 
place  in  i834,2  that  "the  25th  of  July  witnessed  the  death  of 
the  great  philosopher-poet  S.  T.  Coleridge."  Molesworth  says 
that  he  and  Robert  Southey,  fired  with  enthusiastic  hopes 
which  the  dawn  of  the  French  Revolution  inspired,  dreamed 
all  kinds  of  Utopias ;  but  its  sequel  quenched  the  bright  anti- 
cipations its  dawn  had  created.  In  1800  Coleridge  took  up 
his  abode  at  Keswick,  where  his  two  friends  Southey  and 
Wordsworth  resided.  Here  he  exchanged  his  Unitarian  views 
for  those  of  the  Church  of  England.  "  His  works,"  writes 
Molesworth,  "  are  replete  with  profound  thought  and  the 
loftiest  eloquence.  .  .  .  Perhaps  few  men  ever  lived  who  have 
more  powerfully  influenced  understandings  of  the  highest 
order.  We  believe  that  Dr.  Arnold,  Keble,  Pusey,  T.  Carlyle, 
Gladstone,  the  two  Newmans,  the  two  Froudes,  Colenso,  and 
the  writers  both  of  the  Tracts  for  the  Times  and  Essays  and 
Reviews,  were  all  largely,  though  perhaps  unconsciously,  in- 
debted to  the  seeds  of  thought  which  were  directly  or  indi- 
rectly sown  in  their  minds  by  his  writing  or  conversation." 
This  reminds  me  of  a  remark  in  a  recent  address  of  the 
Bishop  of  Birmingham  (Dr.  Gore),  that  each  generation  had 
writers  who  especially  impressed  them — for  instance,  Dr. 
Johnson  recommended  Grotius  as  a  good  Bible  commentator; 
"  but  who,"  asks  the  Bishop,  "reads  Grotius  now?" 

Time  may  have  put  an  extinguisher  upon  Grotius,   but 

1  The  first  edition  was  published  in  1871,  but  my  copy  is  a  later  one,  published 
in  1886. 

2  Page  330. 


238*  'APPENDIX    IV 

Coleridge,  besides  his  powerful  prose,  wrote  "The  Ancient 
Mariner,"  "  Christabel,"  and  "  Kubla  Khan,"  so  that  many 
regard  him  as  one  of  our  great  poets.1 


MRS.   CHARLES   LLOYD,    nte   PEMBERTON 

The  following  trifling  incident  is  vouched  for  by  Mrs.  F. 
H.  Steeds,  who  is  descended  from  the  Bingley  Lloyds  through 
both  her  parents  : — 

One  day  when  Mrs.  Charles  Lloyd,  the  poet's  wife,  was 
taking  a  walk  with  her  little  children  at  Brathay  she  met  a 
gipsy  woman,  who  said,  "You  may  have  my  little  girl  for 
half-a-crown,"  so  Mrs.  Lloyd  bought  her.  Everything  went 
on  well  for  a  time  till  the  little  girl  grew  older,  and  was  told 
by  Mrs.  Lloyd  that  she  must  prefix  the  word  "Master"  when 
speaking  to  or  of  her  little  boys,  but  the  little  gipsy  girl 
would  noL  Mrs.  Lloyd  therefore  thought  it  best  to  make 
another  arrangement  respecting  her. 


MRS.   KNOWLES 

A  likeness  of  Mrs.  Knowles  is  given  at  page  1 10.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  Moses  Morris  of  Rugeley  who  attended 
Stafford  Meeting.  A  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England 
was  attached  to  her,  and  the  only  obstacle  on  either  side 
was  a  conscientious  objection  mutually  felt,  on  account  of  diffe- 
rent religious  sentiments.  She  afterwards  married,  as  stated, 
Dr.  Knowles,  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends. 


SAMPSON  SAMUEL  LLOYD 

Mr.  Howard  Lloyd,  in  reply  to  a  suggestion  that  he  might 
give  interesting  particulars  respecting  S.  S.  Lloyd,  with  whom 
he  was  intimately  associated  in  the  management  of  the  Bank 

1  The  Literary  Supplement  of  the  Times,  May  10,  1907,  p.  145,  contains  an 
interesting  article  upon  him  as  a  poet. 


APPENDIX    IV  239* 

for  so  many  years,  writes  as  a  summary  of  much  he  could  say, 
that,  taking  him  all  in  all,  he  was  the  finest  Lloyd  of  the 
present  generation. 


EARLY  WELSH   CHRISTIANITY 

Mr.  James  Simmons,  of  Wellington  Road,  Edgbaston, 
writes  to  me  referring  to  the  genealogy  of  the  Llo3rds,  that 
in  a  book  he  bought  a  few  years  ago  he  read  with  interest 
a  passage  relating  to  early  Welsh  Christianity.  It  stated 
that  soon  after  the  Crucifixion,  a  Christian  Jew  named  Lud, 
flying  from  persecution  in  Palestine,  settled  in  Wales,  from 
whom  it  would  appear  that  the  Lloyds  were  descended,  and 
that  Christianity  was  introduced  into  Wales  A.D.  60.  This 
was  in  a  small  book  published  by  Banks  &  Son,  Red  Lion 
Court,  Fleet  Street ;  but  the  information,  upon  inquiry,  I  found 
to  be  too  indefinite  for  me  to  do  more  than  thus  allude  to  it. 


NOTES  BY  C.  D.  STURGE 

Page  21.  Mary  Crowley  (not  Crawley)  was  a  sister  of  Sir 

Ambrose  Crowley. 

„      24.  It  appears  from  Burke  that  the  present  peer  is 
a  direct  descendant  from  the  first  Lord. 


THE  CONFERENCE  BETWEEN  THE  BISHOP  OF 
ST.  ASAPH  (WILLIAM  LLOYD),  AND  CHARLES 
AND  THOMAS  LLOYD  IN  1681 

This  conference  is  referred  to  at  page  13.  After  the  first 
edition  of  this  book  was  published  I  found  that  "  The  original 
MS.  by  the  eminent  antiquary  Mr.  Robert  Davies  of  Llanerch, 
an  ear-witness  of  this  well-known  conference  between  the 
Bishop  and  the  Quakers,  which  took  place  at  Llanfyllin, 
September  22-23,  1681,"  was  in  the  possession  of  the  Cardiff 
Central  Public  Library.  I  accordingly  communicated  with 
Mr.  John  Ballinger,  the  Librarian,  and  he  had  an  exact  copy 


240*  -APPENDIX    IV 

made  for  me.  It  is  too  long  for  insertion  in  this  Appendix,  but 
I  am  presenting  it  to  the  Birmingham  Reference  Library. 

The  MS.  is  endorsed:  "The  Bp's  dispute  with  ye 
Quakers,  81." 

The  MS.  was  purchased  by  the  Cardiff  Libraries  Committee 
in  February  1899  from  Mr.  LI.  Lloyd  of  Tendring,  near  Col- 
chester, who  stated  that  the  manuscripts  of  which  it  formed  a 
part  were  collected  by  the  Rev.  John  Lloyd,  the  friend  and 
companion  of  Pennant. 


INDEX 


AlKIN,  Miss,  159 
Ailesbury  Jail,  Quakers  in,  8 
Aleth,  King  of  Dyfed,  i,  211 
Amalgamations  with  Lloyds  Bank 

Limited,  list  of,  79,  80 
Amersham,  burial  of  Quaker,  8 
Anabaptists,  on  oaths,  9 
Annual  Anthology  (ed.  Southey), 

156 
Apology  (Barclay),  37,   121  ;  Bas- 

kerville's  edition  of,  107,  108  n. ; 

Dr.  Johnson  and,  107,  117  ;  Mrs. 

Knowles  and,  117 
Arts' s  Gazette,  50,  62,  172  ;  notice 

of  death  of  Charles  Lloyd  the 

banker,  143,  144 
Ash,  Dr.,  50 

"  Atmospheric  Engine,"  192 
Attwood,  Thomas,  71 ;  his  statue, 

7i 

Author,  informed  by  George  B. 
Lloyd  regarding  skull  of  Charles 
Lloyd  the  Quaker,  15  ;  sees 
portion  of  Mary  Gill's  hair,  15  ; 
case  of  human  hair  growing  after 
death,  15  ;  undertakes  present 
work  on  suggestion  of  G.  B. 
Lloyd,  22,  203  ;  his  residence, 
32,  33,  35 ;  shown  James  Watt's 
private  workshop,  52  ;  stories  of 
runs  on  the  bank,  68,  69  ;  per- 
sonal recollections  of  the  Lloyds 
as  bankers,  81-94  ;  adventure  in 
the  safe,  93,  94  ;  possesses  Bible 
of"SarahFidoe,"95«.;  possesses 
copy  of  first  edition  of  Dr.  John- 
son's Dictionary,  109,  1 10  ;  takes 
tea  with  Dr.  Livingstone,  126, 
127 ;  on  George  Dawson,  128 ;  on 
Douglas  Galton,  129;  Thomas 
Lloyd  in  Mexico,  133, 134  ;  Caro- 
line Fox,  141  ;  meets  Elizabeth 


Fry,  145  ;  grandfather,  182  ; 
leaves  Friends,  but  rejoins  (1892), 
185  ;  Edward  Smith's  opinion, 
186;  lives  at  Wednesbury — 
moves  to  "Farm"  (1870),  189  ; 
father,  193 ;  the  beacon-fires, 
193,  194  ;  joins  father's  business 
(1843),  J94  5  recollections  of 
Wednesbury,  195  ;  on  religious 
persecution,  196  ;  welcomes  de- 
claration regarding  Biblical  Criti- 
cism, 198  ;  Lloyds,  Fosters  and 
Co.,  199-201  ;  Lloyds  still  true 
to  iron,  202  ;  on  ironmasters, 
202,  203  ;  distributes  copies  of 
the  Bible  into  Spain,  203  ;  The 
Corrected  New  Testament — life- 
work,  203 

BACON,  Lord,  quoted,  203 

Baillie,  Joanna,  159 

Baker,  Alderman,  his  great-grand- 
father, 123,  124 

Banbury,  Friends  at,  188 

Bank  Passage,  Dale  End,  54 

Banks — 

Alfred  Lloyd's  (Leamington),  73 
Amalgamations  with  Lloyds,  79, 

80 

Attwood,  Spooner  &  Co.,  71,  74 
Bank  of  England,  62,  63,  64,  65, 

66,  67,  71 
Barclay's,  32,  168 
Barnetts,  Hoares  &  Co.,  77,  79 
Birmingham  Joint  Stock,  75,  78, 

79 

Bosanquet,  Salt  &  Co.,  77,  79 
"Clean,"  64 
Coates  (Moilliettte  Sons),  59,  70, 

71,  75,  79 

Dickenson  &  Goodall,  59 
Freer,  Rotton  &  Co.,  71 


235 


236 


INDEX 


Banks  (continued} — 
Gallon's,  64,  70 
Goodall  &  Co.,  59 
Gurney  Norfolk,  73 
"Smith's,"  70,  71 
Spooner  &  Co.,  59 
Stafford  Old,  76,  79 
Taylor,  Lloyd,  Hanbury  &  Bow- 
man, 32,  56,  57,  77 
"The   Birmingham  Old  Bank," 

55,79 

Wednesbury  Old,  76,  79 
Wilkinson,  Startin  &  Smith,  64 
Worcester  City  &  County,  70,  79 

Banks,  Sir  Joseph,  51 

Barbauld,  Mrs.,  159 

Barclay,  David,  the  elder,  his  house 
in  London,  37  ;  Royal  visits,  37, 

33 

David,  junior,  marries  Rachel 

Lloyd,  32,  37,  38,  119;  life  at 
Youngsbury,  38,  39 ;  estimate  of, 
39  ;  buys  Thrale's  brewery,  119 

-  Lucy,  George  III.  and,  38 
—  Perkins  &  Co.,  1 19 

-  Robert,  119 

•  Robert,  of  Urie,  37,  39, 
122  ;  his  Apology,  37,  107  and  ;/., 
117,  121  ;  Dr.  Johnson  and  the 
Apology,  107,  117 

Barford,  60 

Barr,  193 

—  Beacon,  193 

"Barry  Cornwall,"  159 

Baskerville,  50,  107 

Beacon  to  the  Society  of  Friends,  A 
(Isaac  Crewdson),  177,  183,  184 

Beddoes,  Dr.,  151 

Benett,  Conventicle  Act  and,  8 

Bessemer,  Sir  William,  203 

Beverley,  Mr.  R.  M.,  visits  "Farm," 
102,  103,  184 

Bingley  House  (Hall),  134  ;  used  for 
Exposition  of  Arts  and  Manu- 
factures, 134  ;  Prince  Consort  at, 

134 

Birmingham,  3,  n,  14,  15;  Lloyds 
come  to,  20,  21  ;  Dissent  and, 
21,  22;  "Five  Mile  Act"  and, 
22;  No.  56  Edgbaston  Street, 
22;  Lloyd  slitting-mill,  22,  23, 
25,  26  ;  meeting  at  the  Swan,  28  ; 
No.  1 8  Park  Street,  33  ;  "  Farm,'' 
33~35;  Owen's  farmhouse,  36; 


John  Taylor,  40-43 ;  increasing 
trade  —  establishment  of  first 
bank,  43,  44;  population  and 
prosperity,  45,  46,  59;  different 
ways  of  spelling,  45  n. ;  Hutton's 
prophecy,  46;  bad  roads  and 
highwaymen,  47 ;  Making  of 
Birmingham  (Dent),  quoted,  47, 
48 ;  gun  trade,  48  ;  "  Toy-shop 
of  Europe,"  49;  Boulton,  Watt 
and  Murdock,  49,  5 1,  52,  53  ;  Aris 
and  Baskerville,  50  ;  first  musical 
festival,  5 1 ;  Lunar  Society,  5 1  ; 
statues  of  James  Watt  and  Dr. 
Priestley,  52;  George  Stephen- 
son's  lecture,  53 ;  slave-trade  and, 
53  ;  earliest  known  Directory  of, 
54,  58;  Priestley  Riots,  59,  60; 
Mayors  of,  87,88;  Members  of 
Parliament,  71,  80,  89,  90;  Dr. 
Johnson's  visits,  106-109;  Society 
of  Friends  in,  120;  Bull  Street 
Meeting-house,  120;  Coleridge's 
visits,  145,  148,  149 

Birmingham — 

Chronicle  (1825),  66,  67 

Daily  rost,  Thomas  Lloyd's  letter 

to,  88,  89 
Directory  (1770),  54,  58 

Blackfriars  Bridge,  London,  con- 
struction of,  199-201 

Blackwell,  Mr.,  85 

Blackivood,  Christopher  North's 
review  of  Nugcz  Canorce  (Charles 
Lloyd),  159 

Borrow,  George,  203 

Boswell,  106,  107,  108,  109,  no, 
111-115,  119 

Boulton,  Matthew,  49 ;  Sampson 
Lloyd's  liberality  to,  49  ;  descrip- 
tion of,  51 ;  letter  to  James  Watt, 
52,  53;  works  at  Soho,  61,  108; 
rolling-mills,  192 

&  Watt,  pumping-engines  of, 

190 

Bowlby,  Dr.  (Bishop  of  Coventry), 
87,88 

Bowley,  Samuel,  of  Gloucester,  his 
"latitudinarianism,"  188 

Bowman,  William,  56 

Bradford  Street  slitting-mill,  22,  23 

Bradley,  192 

Braithwaite,  Joseph  Bevan,  175 ; 
sketch  of,  1 80,  181 


INDEX 


Brassey,  Messrs.,  200 

Bridgenorth,  Welsh  yearly  meeting 
at,  20 

Bright,  John,  71  ;  Thomas  Lloyd 
and,  88,  89;  on  Quaker  con- 
servatism, 89,  90 ;  writes  pre- 
face to  author's  book  on  Martin 
Luther,  90;  on  politics  of  Bir- 
mingham, 90 

Brown,  Rev.  John,  105 

Bull  Lane,  Monmouth  Street, 
Friends'  old  burial-ground  in, 
14,  15,  21,  36,  no,  120  ;  Charles 
Lloyd's  skull  and  Mary  Gill's 
hair,  15  ;  human  hair  after  death, 
15 ;  original  meeting-place  of 
Friends  in  Birmingham,  120 

Street,  Friends'  burial-ground 

in,  15  ;  meeting-house  in,  120 

Burke,  Edmund,  description  of 
Birmingham,  49 

Burnet,  Bishop,  on  severity  of 
Conventicle  Act  (1664),  7 

Burr,  John,  surgeon,  Miss  Fidoe's 
property  and,  106 

Burton-on-Trent,  charcoal  forges 
at,  27 

Bury,  Curtis  &  Kennedy,  86,  200 

Buxton,  Sir  Thomas  Fowell,  135 

CADBURY,  John,  146 

Richard  T.,  146,  185 

Campbell,  Lord,  191 
Campbell-Bannerman,  Sir  Henry, 

Prime    Minister,    on    policy    of 

large  armaments,  129 
Cannon  Hill  Park,  60 
Carnegie,  Mr.  Andrew,  203 
Castle  Donnington  (Leicestershire), 

169 

Celynin,  acquires  Llwydiarth,  i,  21 1 
Century     of    Birmingham     Life 

(Langford),  35  and  ».,  62,  63 
Chamberlain,  Rt.  Hon.  Joseph,  80, 

213,  216 

Champion,  Nehemiah,  of  Bristol,  31 
Charles    Lamb    and    the    Lloyds 

(Lucas),  136 

Charlotte,  queen  of  George  III.,  38 
Chelmsford,      Stephen      Grellet's 

preaching  at,  187 

Child,   Robert,    daughter's    elope- 
ment, 104,  105 
Child,  Miss  Sarah,  elopes  with  Lord 


Westmorland, 
riage,  105 

J>~    T? 1 


237 

104,    105  ;    mar- 


Child's  Bank,  small  boy  and,  105 

Christ  Church,  Sparkbrook,  Samp- 
son S.  Lloyd  contributes  largely 
towards  erection  of,  90,  91 

"  Christopher  North,"  157  ;  reviews 
Nug<z  Canor<Zy  159 

Clarkson,  Rev.  Isaac,  196 

Thomas,  visits  Birmingham, 

Cloddian  Cochion  (near  Welsh- 
pool),  Friends'  burial-ground  at, 
ii  ;  12,  16 

Cobden,  Richard,  126 

Coedcowrid  (near  Welsh  pool), 
estate,  i,  2 

Coggeshall,  Essex,  56 

Coleridge,  Derwent,  anecdotes,  141 

Hartley,    149  ;    on    Charles 

Lloyd's    appreciation    of    Pope, 
1 58 ;  friendship  with  Owen  Lloyd, 
161  ;    his    "  Schoolfellow's    Tri- 
bute," 162,  163 

Samuel  Taylor,  53  ;  visits  to 

Birmingham,  145,  148  ;  Charles 
Lloyd   the  poet  and,    148-155  ; 
residence  in  Lake  District,  156  ; 
his  copy  of  Nug<z  Canortz,  1 59 

Sara,  149 

Colmore  Row,  Birmingham,  14,  221 
Conventicle  Act  (1664),  severity  of, 

7-9,21 

Corrected  New  Testament,  The,  203 
Cottle,  publisher,  156 
Crawley,   Mary,   marries   the  first 

Sampson  Lloyd,  21 
Crewdson,  Isaac,  of  Manchester,  A 

Beacon  to  the  Society  of  Friends, 

177,   183,    184  ;  leaves   Friends, 

185 

Croker,  119 
Cromwell,  Oliver,  autograph  letter, 

Cunnington,  Rev.  G.  C.,  The  Cor- 
rected New  Testament  and,  203 

DANNEMORA  Mines  (Sweden), 
Richard  Foley  and,  23,  24 

Darwin,  Charles,  130 

Dr.,  51,  130 

Darwinism  Exposed  (R.  M.  Bever- 
ley),  102 

David,  Hugh,  5 


238 


INDEX 


Davies,  Richard,  becomes  a  Quaker, 

5  ;  Autobiography,  5,  6,  10,  11, 

12,  13,  14 
Dawson,  George,   on  peace,  128, 

129 
De    Quincey,    describes     Charles 

Lloyd  the  poet,  156,   157,  158  ; 

opinion  of  Mrs.  Lloyd,  158 
Dictionary  of  National  Biography, 

Dr.  Garnett  on   Charles   Lloyd 

the  poet,  157,  159,  1 60 
Dilly,  Dr.,  in 
Dissertation  on  Roast  Pig  (Lamb), 

155 

Dolobran,  estate,   I,  2,   17;  meet- 
ings   at,     5,    6,    12  ;     ironwork 
established      near,     20 ;      sold, 
21  ;  bought  back,  21 ;  133,  202, 
205,  208,  209,  2ii 
-Hall,  2,  6,  12,  17,20 
Dudley  Castle,  194 

—  Dud,  Metallum  Martis,  wood 
and  iron,  25 

-   Earl    of,    buys    property  of 
Foleys,  24 
Dyfed  (Demicia  or  Demica),  i,  211 

EAST  India  Company,  Birming- 
ham sword-makers  and,  48 

Edgbaston  Street,  No.  56,  22,  175 

Edwards,  Dr.  John  E.,  describes 
one  of  Anna  Braithwaite's 
meetings,  177-179 

Einion,  David,  inherits  Dolobran 
and  Coedcowrid,  I 

Llewellyn  (father),  I 

Elder,  John,  militant  Christianity 
and,  123 

Eldon,  Lord,  his  delays,  191  ;  first 
journey  from  Newcastle  to 
London,  191  ;  Quaker  and  the 
motto,  191 

Ellwood,  Thomas,  on  severity  of 
Conventicle  Act  (1664),  7-9 ; 
his  riddle,  8 

"  FALLACIES  of  theRotary  Engine," 
George  Stephenson's  lecture,  53, 
203 

"  Farm,"  home  of  Lloyds  of 
Birmingham,  32;  purchase  of, 
33;  "Jacobite"  elms,  33,  34; 
summer-house  of  the  four  seasons, 
34,  35  ;  stanzas  on  (?),  35  ;  estate 


and  house  to-day,  33,  35,  36,  38  ; 
description  of,  43;  Priestley 
rioters  and,  59,  60 ;  Alfred 
Lloyd's  signature,  73  ;  the  prim- 
rose bank  in  spring,  104 ;  the 
story  of  the  governess  at,  114- 
119;  visit  of  Mrs.  H.  Beecher 
Stowe,  1 80;  first  Samuel  Lloyd 
moves  to,  182  ;  Mr.  R.  M.  Bever- 
ley's  visits,  102,  103,  184  ;  author 
moves  to,  189;  second  Samuel 
Lloyd  spends  week-ends  at,  193  ; 
Mrs.  Howard  and  Mrs.  Fox  at, 
103,  104,  194 

Farm  and  its  Inhabitants  (Mrs. 
Rachel  J.  Lowe),  32,  49,  104,  211 

Farmer,  Priscilla,  Charles  Lloyd's 
Poems,  151,  176;  Lamb's  "The 
Grandam,"  151  ;  Anna  Braith- 
waite  and,  176 

Fidoe,  Betsy,  95  ;  story  of  third 
Sampson  Lloyd's  attachment  to, 
96-99;  leaves  her  property  to 
him,  106 

Fithian,  Sir  E.  W.,  on  Sampson  S. 
Lloyd  as  President  of  Association 
of  Chambers  of  Commerce,  91 

"Five  Mile  Act,"  22 

Foley,  Richard,  his  fiddle  leads  to 
wealth,  23,  24 

Thomas  (son),  24 


Ford     Cornelius    (cousin    of    Dr. 

Johnson),  1 10 

Forster,  Josiah,  schoolmaster,  186 
Foster,    Joseph    (Royal    Descent}, 

pedigree  of  Lloyds,  207,  210 
Sampson,  73 


Fox,  Alfred,  141,  194 

—  Caroline,  of  Penjerrick,  141 

George,  in  Wales,  5,  12;  on 

oaths,  6  ;  21,  122,  131  ;  Narrative 
of  the  Spreading  of  Truth,  198 
Henderson  &  Co.,  of  Smeth- 


wick,  200 
Franklin,  Dr.,  135 
Friends,  Society  of.     See  Quakers 
Fry,   Elizabeth,  guest  at   Bingley 

House,  145 
Fundamental  Constitutions  (Penn), 

122 

GALTON,  Rev.  Arthur,   sketch   of, 

and  writings,  130-132 
Douglas,  129 


INDEX 


239 


Galton,  Francis,  works  on  Heredity, 
129,  130 

Samuel,  senior,  121 

Samuel,  junior,  102,  121  ; 

gunmaking  and  Christianity,  122, 
123 ;  interview  with  Friends, 
123;  his  statement,  124,  125  ; 
"disowned,"  126  ;  helps  Friends 
to  acquire  burial-ground  in  Bull 
Street,  15,  126  ;  undesirable 
suitor  and,  130;  dies,  132 

Samuel  Tertius,  64 

Garnett,  Dr.,  157,  159 

Geach,  Mr.,  196 

General  Hospital,  establishment  of, 

5o>5i 
Gentlemarts  Magazine -,  37  n. ;  Mrs. 

Knowles's  disputation  with  Dr. 

Johnson,    115-118;    article    on 

Charles  Lloyd  the  banker,  134- 

136 ;  Lamb's  memoir  of  Robert 

Lloyd,  173,  174 
George  I.,  37 
George  II.,  37 
George  III.,  38 
Gibbins,  W.  B.,  of  Ettington,  his 

grandfather,  123,  124 
Gill,     Mary     (daughter     of     first 

Sampson  Lloyd),  her  hair,  15 
Gillam,  Richard,  105 
Godwin,  William,  159,  171 
Good,  Elizabeth,  marries  the  first 

Sampson  Lloyd,  21 
Great  Western   Railway,  Friends' 

burial-ground  in  Bull  Lane  and, 

14,  15,  120 
Grellet,    Stephen,    his    preaching, 

187 

Gretna  Green,  104,  105 
Gulson,  John   (son-in-law   of  first 

Sampson  Lloyd),  22 
Gurney,  Hudson,  37  n. 
Richard,  119 

HACKWOOD,  Mr.  P.  W.,  199 

Hamstead  (near  Birmingham),  iron 
furnace  at,  26,  27 

H  anbury,  Osgood,  of  Coggeshall, 
Essex,  marries  Mary  Lloyd, 
56  ;  partnership  with  third 
Sampson  Lloyd,  32,  56,  99 

Harry,  Jane,  governess  at  "  Farm," 
114;  Dr.  Johnson  and  Mrs. 
Knowles  on  her  conversion 


to  Quakerism,  114-118;  Miss 
Se ward's  story,  118,  119 

Hart,  Francis,  of  Nottingham, 
169 

Haverford,  Pennsylvania,  Friends' 
tribute  to  Thomas  Lloyd,  17-19 

Haverfordwest  Corporation,  Crom- 
well's letter  to,  3 

Hazlitt,  William,  159 

Heathfield  Hall,  its  relics,  52 

Hector,  Dr.,  50,  109  ;  Dr.  Johnson's 
visit,  106-108 

"  Heirs  of  Parkes,"  36 

Herbert,  Lord  Edward,  Baron  of 
Cherbury,  6,  10,  1 1 

Hereditary  Genius  (Francis  Galton), 
129,  130 

Herschel,  Sir  William,  51 

Hickling,  John,  confidential  head 
clerk  of  Lloyds,  93 

Hicks,  Elias,  religious  views, 
177,  183  ;  Anna  Braithwaite 
and,  177;  influence,  183;  Isaac 
Crewdson's  counterblast,  177, 
183,  184 

"Hicksite  Friends,"  183 

History  of  his  own  Time 
(Burnet),  7 

History  of  the  Slave  Trade  (Clark- 
son),  53 

Hodgkin,  Dr.  Thomas,  on  the 
Quaker,  9  ;  on  banker  and 
usurer,  85,  86 

Howard,  Robert,  of  Tottenham,  194 

Hunt,  Leigh,  159 

Hutton,  historian  of  Birmingham, 
42  ;  settles  in  Birmingham,  50  ; 
panegyric  on  John  Taylor,  42, 
43;  on  growth  of  Birmingham, 
45,  46  ;  on  carriage  of  coal,  47  ; 
on  formation  of  Taylors  &  Lloyds, 
58  ;  description  of  meeting-house 
in  Bull  Street,  120 

INFORMERS,    under     Conventicle 

Act  (1664),  8,  9,  12,  16 
Iron,  high  price  of  (1757),  28 
furnace,  description  of  (1755), 

26 
Ironmasters,    quarterly    meetings 

of,  in  Birmingham,  28  ;  famous, 

202,  203 
Italy  and  her  Invaders  (Dr.  Thomas 

Hodgkin),  85 


240 


INDEX 


JAMES,  Mr.  J.  Spinther,  list  of 
charges  against  Charles  Lloyd, 
the  second,  12  n.,  13  t?.\  parti- 
culars of  Thomas  Lloyd's  career, 
16 

Paul  Moon,  of  Wake  Green, 

marries  Olivia  Lloyd,  146  n. 

Jenyns,  Soame,  112 

Jesus  College,  Oxford,  2 

Johnson,  Dr.,  interested  in  John 
Taylor,  41,  42  ;  his  father's  stall 
in  Birmingham,  50 ;  essays  in 
Warren's  newspaper,  50  ;  visits 
third  Sampson  Lloyd,  106-108  ; 
volume  of  Barclay's  Apology  and, 
107  ;  translates  Lobo's  Voyage 
to  Abyssinia,  109  ;  at  school  at 
Stourbridge,  1 10;  dialecticalbouts 
with  Mrs.  Knowles,  m-ii8  ;  the 
picture  and,  119  ;  remark  at  sale 
of  Thrale's  brewery,  119 

-    Michael,     his     Birmingham 
stall,  50 

Jones,  Gilbert,  of  Welshpool,  father- 
in-law  of  Thomas  Lloyd,  16 

Jordan,  Mrs.,  158 

KEITH,  George,  Thomas  Lloyd 
and,  19 

Kemble,  John,  171 

Kendal,  175,  181 

Kenrick,  Mr.  Timothy,  first  chair- 
man of  Lloyds  Banking  Com- 
pany Limited,  76,  216,  219 

Knott  &  Lloyd,  172 

Knowles,  Dr.,  no,  in 

-  Mrs.,  lays  out  pleasure  garden 
of  "  Farm,"  34,  110;  sketch  of, 
no,  in  ;  dialectical  bouts  with 
Dr.  Johnson,  111-115  5  lier  own 
recollections  of  dialogue  concern- 
ing "  The  Farm  "  governess,  1 1 5- 
1 1 8  ;  Dr.  Johnson  and  the  picture, 
119 

LAMB,  Charles,  53  ;  on  translations 
of  Charles  Lloyd  of  Bingley, 
136-141  ;  on  Robert  Lloyd's 
character-sketch,  143  ;  the  joint- 
volume,  149;  "The  Grandam," 
151  ;  verses  to  Charles  Lloyd 
the  poet,  153  ;  correspondence 
with  Charles  Lloyd,  154;  poem 


(1797),  154  5  letter  to  Coleridge, 
154 ;  introduced  to  Thomas 
Manning,  155  ;  value  of  his 
letters  to  Robert  Lloyd,  164 ; 
as  a  mentor,  165,  166 ;  Robert 
Lloyd  takes  shelter  with,  167  ; 
on  Charles  Lloyd  the  banker, 
1 68  ;  on  marriage  of  Robert 
Lloyd,  169  ;  glimpse  of  him  and 
his  sister,  171,  172;  his  memoir 
of  Robert  Lloyd,  173,  174 

Lancaster,  Mr.,  85,  86 

Langford,  Dr.  J.  A.,  35  «.,  62,  63 

Lea  (near  Leominster),  22 

Levi,  Professor  Leone,  93 

Licky  Hills,  33 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  203 

Lloyd,  David,  of  Dolobran,  I,  2 

John     (grandson),   a    noted 

antiquary ;  his  Sunday  body- 
guard, 2 

Charles    (son   of  John),   the 


first  of  Dolobran  ;  marries  Eliza- 
beth Stanley  ;  his  hobby,  2 
—  Charles  (eldest  son),  the  second 
of  Dolobran,  at  Jesus  College, 
Oxford,  2  ;  marries  (i)  Elizabeth 
Lort,  3,  (2)  Ann  Lawrence,  14  ; 
becomes  a  Quaker,  5,  6  ;  in 
prison,  6,  9-11  ;  released,  and 
returns  to  Dolobran,  n,  12  ;  list 
of  charges  against,  12  n.  ;  "dis- 
courses "  with  Bishop  Lloyd,  13, 
14,  88  ;  dies,  14  ;  his  skull,  15 
John  (brother),  2,  3 


Thomas  (brother),  2,  3  ;  visits 

Charles  in  prison,  10  ;  pleads 
with  Lord  Herbert,  n  ;  "dis- 
courses" with  Bishop  Lloyd,  13, 
14  ;  fined  and  imprisoned,  12, 
16,  17  j  marries  Mary  Jones,  16  ; 
friend  of  William  Penn  and 
Deputy-Governor  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, 3,  16,  19  ;  dies,  17  ;  Penn- 
sylvanian  Friends'  Tribute,  17- 

19 

Charles  (the  third),  born  in 

jail,    10 ;   remains  at    Dolobran 
Hall,   and   establishes   an   iron- 
work,   20 ;   minute    of   meeting 
at  Bridgenorth,  20  ;  dies  at  Bir- 
mingham, 21 

Sampson   (the  first),   n,   15, 

20;  marries  (i)  Elizabeth  Good, 


INDEX 


241 


(2)  Mary  Crawley,  21  ;  migrates 
to  Birmingham,  21,  198  ;  iron- 
master— property — dies,  22 

Lloyd,  Sampson  (the  second),  21, 
22,  23,  25,  27,  28,  31  ;  marries 
(i)  Sarah  Parkes,  (2)  Rachel 
Champion,  31  ;  one  of  the 
founders  of  Lloyds  Bank,  31, 
32  ;  lives  at  No.  18  Park  Street, 
33 ;  purchases  "  Farm,"  32,  33  ; 
planting  of  "  Jacobite  "  elms,  33, 
34  ;  dies,  36  ;  "The  Silent  High- 
way "  and,  94 

Sampson  (the  third),  31,  32, 

37;  prime  mover  in  formation 
of  Taylor,  Lloyd,  Hanbury  and 
Bowman,  32,  56,  99 ;  lives  at 
No.  1 8  Park  Street  and  in  Old 
Square,  33,  106 ;  formation  of 
bank,  54,  55  ;  memorandum  of 
1796,  58;  character  of,  55,  95, 
99;  "The  Silent  Highway"  and, 
94  ;  story  of  attachment  to  Miss 
Fidoe,  96-99;  marries  Rachel 
Barnes,  99;  family  of  seven- 
teen, 99  ;  letters  from  Richard 
Reynolds,  99-101 ;  Mrs.  Schim- 
melpenninck  contrasts  two 
brothers,  101,  102  ;  estimate  of 
Mr.  R.  M.  Beverley,  102,  103  ; 
recollections  of  two  grand- 
daughters, 103, 104 ;  Miss  Fidoe's 
property  and,  106 ;  visit  of  Dr. 
Johnson,  106-108  ;  one  of  depu- 
tation to  Samuel  Galton,  102, 
121-124;  dies,  182 
-  Charles,  of  Bingley,  31,  32, 
36,  57,  72  ;  on  death  of  Rachel 
Lloyd,  38  ;  Lunar  Society 
meetings,  and  occasional  guests, 
53  ;  in  London  (179?),  63,  64  ; 
weathers  the  "storm"  of  1825, 
66,  67,  133  ;  contrasted  with 
third  Sampson  Lloyd,  101,  102  ; 
opinion  of  Thomas  Lloyd  of  the 
Priory,  Warwick,  133;  "Bingley 
House,  Warwickshire,"  134; 
Gentlemarts  Magazine  (1828) — 
estimate  of,  134-136 ;  Charles 
Lamb  on  Mr.  Lloyd's  transla- 
tions from  the  Iliad,  the  Odyssey ', 
and  Horace,  136-141  ;  anec- 
dotes, 141,  142;  a  kindly  father, 
142,  143;  Robert  Lloyd's 


character-sketch  of  his  father, 
143  ;  Arisfs  Gazette  on  death  of, 
143,  144 ;  marble  bust  in  General 
Hospital,  144;  assists  in  form- 
ing Bible  Society,  144 ;  Mary 
Farmer,  his  wife,  145,  146  ; 
Charles  Lamb's  letter,  146 ;  on 
Coleridge,  150  ;  dies,  146 

Lloyd,  Charles,  the  poet,  87,  136, 
145,  146;  Mr.  Lucas's  summing 
up  of  character,  147  ;  unwilling 
banker,  147,  148;  advice  to 
brother  Robert,  148 ;  visits  of 
Coleridge,  148,  149 ;  at  Bristol 
and  Nether  Stowey,  149-154; 
letters  from  Coleridge,  150; 
Poems  on  the  Death  of  Pris cilia 
Farmer,  151  ;  first  mental  ill- 
ness, 151,  152;  visits  Lamb  in 
London,  153 ;  Lamb's  verses, 
153  ;  correspondence  with 
Lamb,  154;  quarrel  with  Cole- 
ridge, 155;  Edmund  Oilier,  a 
novel,  155;  settles  at  Cambridge, 
155;  introduces  Thomas  Man- 
ning to  Lamb,  155  ;  marries 
Sophia  Pemberton,  155,  156; 
at  Old  Brathay,  156;  visitors 
and  friends,  156,  157  ;  testimony 
of  De  Quincey,  157, 158  ;  Shelley 
and,  158  ;  Macready  and,  158, 
159;  poems,  159,  1 60;  Dr. 
Garnett's  criticism,  159,  160 ; 
dies,  1 60  ;  his  children,  160,  161  ; 
Owen  Lloyd—"  Lile  Owey," 
161  ;  Hartley  Coleridge's  poem, 
162,  163 

Robert  (third  son  of  Charles 

Lloyd  the  banker),  142  ;  char- 
acter-sketch of  his  father,  143  ; 
letters  from  his  mother,  146, 
167;  advice  from  his  brother 
Charles,  the  poet,  148  ;  Charles 
Lamb's  letters,  value  of,  164 ; 
Lamb  as  a  mentor,  165,  166  ; 
runs  away  from  Saffron  Walden, 
167;  Thomas  Manning  and, 
1 66,  167,  1 68  ;  Charles  Lloyd 
of  Bingley  in  London — Lamb's 
letter,  168  ;  Lamb  on  marriage, 
169;  marries  Hannah  Hart, 
169  ;  visit  to  London,  170-172  ; 
glimpse  of  Charles  and  Mary 
Lamb  at  home,  171,  172  ;  busi- 

Q 


242 


INDEX 


ness  of  Knott  &  Lloyd,  172 ; 
dies,  172 ;  Lamb's  memoir  of 
him,  173,  174  ;  his  father's  esti- 
mate, 174 ;  Lamb's  letters  to 
him,  in  Charles  Lamb  and  the 
Lloyds,  and  in  Lamb's  Letters, 

174 

Lloyd,  Samuel  (the  first),  marries 
Rachel  Braithwaite,  182  ;  Old 
Square,  the  Crescent,  "  Farm," 
182;  devotes  himself  solely  to 
banking,  183 ;  his  coachman, 
"  Reynolds,"  183  ;  the  first  head 
of  a  Lloyd  family  to  leave  the 
Friends,  183;  Elias  Hicks  and 
his  influence,  183  ;  Isaac  Crewd- 
son's  counterblast,  183,  184 ; 
Plymouth  Brethren  visit"  Farm," 
184;  joins  the  Brethren,  185; 
dies,  58 

—  Samuel  (the  second),  193  ;  the 
view  from  Church  Hill,  Wednes- 
bury,  193,  194;  the  "Clippers," 
194;  description  of,  196;  on  re- 
ligious persecution,  196;  Lloyds, 
Fosters  £  Co.,  199  ;  dies  (1862), 
199 

—  Sampson  Samuel,  buys  back 
Dolobran,  21  ;  directors' policies, 
8 1  ;  on  overdrafts  at  Lloyds 
Bank,  83  ;  Liberal  Conservative 
and  Churchman,  88 ;  as  M.P., 
90  ;  report  of  speech  at  opening 
of  Birmingham  Exchange  (1865), 
90,  230-233  ;  contributes  largely 
towards  erection  of  Christ 
Church,  Sparkbrook,  90,  91  ; 
as  President  of  Association  of 
Chambers  of  Commerce,  91,  92  ; 
Fair  Trader,  92 ;  remark  at  lec- 
ture, 93  ;  parentage,  182 

Thomas,  of  the  Priory,  Mayor 

of  Birmingham  (1859-60),  88  ; 
John  Bright  and,  88,  89;  his 
opinion  regarding  Charles  Lloyd 
of  Bingley,  133  ;  adventure  in 
Mexico,  133,  134 

George  B.,  senior,  advice  of. 

83,84 

-  George  B.?  15,  22,  33,  68,  83, 
86  ;  Mayor  of  Birmingham,  87  ; 
arguments  with  Dr.  Bowlby,  87, 
88  ;  estimate  of,  88 ;  parentage, 
182 


Lloyd,  Mr.  G.  Herbert,  93 

Alfred,  73  ;  his  signature  at 

"  Farm,"  73 

Ambrose,  73 

Charles  Arthur,  161 

Charles  Exton  (son  of  third 

Charles  Lloyd),  21 

David,  73 

Edward,  160 

Grosvenor,  154 

James  (son  of  third  Charles 

Lloyd),  sells  Dolobran,  21 

James,  72 

John,  of  Golynog,  12 

-  John,  London  banker,  111,171 
John  Henry,  Alderman,  Lord 


Mayor  of  Birmingham,  87,  108  n. 
Nehemiah    (eldest    son    of 
second  Sampson  Lloyd),  27,  28  ; 
correspondence,  29 

—  Rev.  Owen,  sketch  of,   161  ; 
Hartley     Coleridge's     "  School- 
fellow's Tribute,"  162,  163 

-  Plumstead,  142,  169,  170 

-  Thomas,  172 

—  Agatha,    ancestress    of    Mr. 
Stephen  Phillips,  161 

Anna  (daughter  of  Charles 

Lloyd     the     banker),     marries 
Isaac    Braithwaite    of    Kendal, 
175  ;   recollections  of  her  early 
years,     176  ;    letter    of    Charles 
Lloyd,      176,      177  ;      confronts 
teachings  of  Elias    Hicks,  177  ; 
Dr.  John  E.  Edwards  describes 
one  of  her  meetings,  178,  179  ; 
letter  on  slavery,  179;  character, 
1 80  ;  dies,  180 

Caroline,  172 

-  Deborah  (eldest  sister  of 
second  Samuel  Lloyd),  marries 
George  Stacey,  186 

Elizabeth,      marries      John 

Pemberton,    of   Bennett's    Hill, 
Birmingham,  1 1 

—  Mary,  marries  Osgood  Han- 
bury,  of  Coggeshall,  Essex,  56 
Nancy,"  married  at  Gretna 


Green,  104 

Olivia  (youngest  child  of  first 

Sampson     Lloyd      and      Mary 
Crawley),  1 10 

—   Olivia   (second   dauj;hter    of 
Charles     Lloyd      of     Bingley), 


INDEX 


243 


marries  Paul  Moon  James,  of 
Wake  Green,  146  n. ;  Charles 
Lamb  and,  146 ;  Lines  to  a 
Brother  and  Sister,  156 

Lloyd,  Priscilla,  marries  Chris- 
topher Wordsworth,  1 68, 170,  171 

Rachel  (youngest  child  of  the 

second  Sampson  Lloyd  and 
Rachel  Champion),  31  ;  marries 
David  Barclay,  junior,  32,  37,  38, 
119 

Rachel,     marries      Robert 

Howard     of    Tottenham,    194  ; 
recollection    of   third    Sampson 
Lloyd,  103,  104 

Sarah,  marries  Alfred  Fox  of 

Falmouth,  141,  194  ;  recollection 
of  third  Sampson  Lloyd,  103,  104 

Dr.  William,  Bishop  of  St. 

Asaph,    "discourses"    with    the 
Quakers,    13,    14 ;    one    of  the 
"  Seven  Bishops,"   14  ;    Richard 
Davies  and,  14 

fruitfulness,  21,  31, 99, 182, 194 

Lloyds,    Welsh    ancestry    of    the, 

i,  208-211  ;  origin   of  name   of 

Lloyd,  i ;   Royal  descent  of  the, 

205-208 
Bank  Magazine  (Dec.  1902), 

212 

Banking    Company  Limited 

(Lloyds     Bank),     original     pro- 
spectus   of,   74,    75,    214,    215  ; 
names  of  Provisional  Committee, 
212-214;  Mr.  Timothy  Kenrick, 
first    chairman,    76,    216 ;     Mr. 
Howard   Lloyd,   first    secretary, 

76,  216;  first  annual  report,  77, 
216-219  ;  first  balance-sheet,  220 ; 
process  of  absorption  begins,  76, 

77,  78,  216  ;  position  of  bank  at 
3 ist   December   1883,  221-224; 
acquires  London  status,  77,  78  ; 
policy  of  bank,  81,  83;    list  of 
amalgamations,  79,  80  ;  present- 
day  figures,   80;    balance-sheet, 
3ist  December  1906,  225,  226; 
report    of    the    directors,     nth 
January  1907,  227 ;   last  annual 
meeting,  25th  January  1907,  227- 
229.     See  also  Taylors  &  Lloyds 

Fosters  &  Co.,  199-201 

Llwydiarth  (Montgomeryshire), 
gives  name  to  family  of  Lloyd,  i 


Lombard  Street  (Walter  Bagehot), 
57  n. 

Lort,  Sir  George,  bart.,  of  Stack- 
pole  Court,  Pembrokeshire,  3 

Elizabeth,    marries    second 

Charles  Lloyd  of  Dolobran,  3 ; 
gives    birth    to    third    Charles 
Lloyd  in  jail,  10  ;  dies,  1 1 

John,  3 

Sampson,  of  Pembroke,  3,  4 

Lorts,  name  of  Sampson  and  the,  3 
Lowe,  Mrs.  Rachel  J.,  Farm  and 

its  Inhabitants,  32,  2 1 1 
Lucas,  Mr.  (Charles  Lamb  and  the 

Lloyds],  136, 147, 148, 152, 153, 155 
Lunar  Society,  51 

MACAULAY,  Lord,  on  population 
of  Birmingham,  45  ;  on  intellec- 
tual condition  of  Birmingham,  50 

Macready,  William   Charles,   158, 

159 

Magna  Charta,  overridden,  6,  7 
Making  of  Birmingham    (Dent), 

47,48 
Manning,  Thomas,  155  ;  introduced 

to  Charles  Lamb,   155  ;   Robert 

Lloyd  and,  166,  167,  168 
Maurice,  David,  informer,  12,  13  n. 
Meifod  Church,  2,  3 
Memoirs    of   Anna    Braithwaite 

(Joseph  Bevan  Braithwaite),  63, 

175,  1 80 

Memorials  of  the  Old  Square,  no 
Metallum  Martis  (Dud  Dudley),  25 
Milton,  John,  7 
Montgomeryshire  Jail  Files,  13  n., 

17 
Morning   Chronicle,    estimate    of 

David  Barclay,  39 
Muntz,  G.  F.,  71 
Murdock,  William,  49 ;  his  steam 

carriage,  52,  53 

Musical  Festival,  first,  in  Birming- 
ham (1768),  51 
Mynors,    Robert    Edward    Eden, 

thanked  for  nothing,  68 

Rev.  T.    H.,  of  Wetheroak 

Hall,  Alvechurch,  68 

Narrative  of  the  Spreading  of 
Truth  (George  Fox),  198 

Natural  History  of  Staffordshire 
(Robert  Plot),  26 


244 


INDEX 


Newcomen,  192 

New  Garden,  Friends'  School  at, 

177,  178 
New  Street  Station,  action  of  clerk 

at  booking-office,  leads  to  bank 

panic,  68 
New    York   Illustrated   Christian 

Weekly  (Dr.  Edwards),  178 

OLD  Park  House,  32,  33 
Old  Square,  33,  95,  106,  no,  182 
One  Hundred  and  Forty-one  Ways 
of  Spelling  Birmingham  (Chis- 
wick  Press),  45  n. 
"Orthodox  Friends,"  183 
Our    Attitude    towards     English 
Roman    Catholics   (Arthur   Gal- 
ton),  131,  132 

Owen,  Griffith,  Thomas  Lloyd  and, 
19 

PARK  Street,  No.  18,  33 

Parkes,  Richard,  of  Oakswell  Hall, 
Staffordshire,  15,  1 6,  31,  36  ;  pro- 
perty at  Wednesbury — "Heirs  of 
Parkes,"  36 ;  500  years'  lease, 
190 

Parr,  Dr.,  51 

Pease,  Edward,  of  Darlington 
("  The  Father  of  Railways  "),  185, 
199 

Henry    (son),    of    Stanhope 


Castle  and  Darlington,  199 

John  William,  of  Newcastle- 

on-Tyne,  his  generosity  towards 
Church  of  England,  197 
Pemberton,     John,     of    Bennett's 
Hill,  Birmingham,  marries  Eliza- 
beth Lloyd,  n,  14,  21,  22 
Samuel,  155 

-  Thomas,  95 

-  Thomas,  junior,  233  note 
Penn,  William,  friend  of  Thomas 

Lloyd,  3,  1 6  ;  friend  of  Thomas 
Ellwood,  7  ;  on  use  of  physical 
force  {Fundamental  Constitu- 
tions], 122 

Pennington,  Isaac,  121 

Penny,  Jane,  157 

Perkins,  Mr.,  119 

Phelps,  Joseph  Lloyd,  183 

Phillips,  Mr.  (1660),  4 

—  Mr.  Stephen,  dramatist,  161 

Plasmawr  (near  W7elshpool),  16 


Plot,  Robert,  describes  making  of 

iron,  26,  27 
Poole,  Thomas,  letter  of  Coleridge 

to,  150,  151 
Powick,  charcoal  forges  at,  under 

management  of  Nehemiah  Lloyd, 

27 

Powys-land  Club,  9th  vol.  of,  211 
Pride  and  Prejudice,  1 1 8  and  n. 
Priestley,  Dr.,  Lunar  Society  and, 

51 ;  Mrs.  Schimmelpenninck  on, 

52  ;  statue  of,  52 ;  Riots,  59  and 

TZ.,  60 

Prince  Consort,  134 
Prison  discipline  under  Conventicle 

Act  (1664),  10,  ii 
Protection,  advocated  in  1783,  29, 

30 

QUAKERS  (or  Friends),  Richard 
Davies  and,  5,  6 ;  persecuted, 
6-12,  1 6,  17,  1 8,  21  ;  oaths  and, 
9  ;  released,  1 1  ;  Dr.  Thomas 
Hodgkin  on,  9,  10  ;  disputation 
with  the  Church,  13,  14;  emi- 
gration to  Pennsylvania,  21  ; 
kings  and  queens  among  the, 
37,  38  ;  slave-trade  and,  53  ; 
John  Bright  and,  89,  90  ;  Dr. 
Johnson  and,  107,  108,  117,  118  ; 
Society  of  Friends  in  Birming- 
ham, 120  ;  physical  force  and, 
121-123,  126,  127  ;  Charles  Lamb 
and,  165,  166  ;  schisms,  177,  183- 
185  ;  religious  Conservatives, 
1 86 ;  basis  of  worship,  187  ;  dress, 
188;  "  latitudinarianism,"  188  ; 
tithes  and,  197  ;  Biblical  Criti- 
cism and,  198 

Queen  Anne,  37 

REA,  the,  23,  25,  33 

Reeves,  Samuel,  of  Leighton  Buz- 
zard, 91 

Reminiscences  (Macready),  158,  159 

"Reynolds,"  first  Samuel  Lloyd's 
coachman,  183 

-  Richard,  letter  to  Lord  Shef- 
field, 28  ;  letters  to  Nehemiah 
Lloyd,  29,  30  ;  letters  to  third 
Sampson  Lloyd,  99-101 

Robinson,  George,  125 

Thomas.  125 

Rockefeller,  John  D.,  82,  83 


INDEX 


245 


Ryland,  T.  H.,  60 

-  W.  H.,  60 
Miss,  her  benefactions,  60 


SAFFRON  Wai  den,  150,  164,  167 
St.  Philip's  Church,  Birmingham, 


St.  Martin's  Church, 
:.  PI 
193 


Sampson,  Norman  saint,  3 

"  Sampson  Lloyd  &  Sons,"  22 

Road,  Sparkbrook,  3 

Savory,  189,  190 

Schimmelpenninck,  Mrs.  (Mary 
Anne  Galton),  describes  Matthew 
Boulton,  James  Watt,  and  Dr. 
Priestley,  51,  52  ;  story  of  the 
third  Sampson  Lloyd's  attach- 
ment to  Miss  Fidoe,  96-99  ;  con- 
trasts the  third  Sampson  Lloyd 
and  Charles  Lloyd,  101,  102 

Scholefield,  Joshua,  71 

William,  71 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  156 

Sedgeley  Beacon,  193 

Select  Miscellanies  .  .  .  illustrative 
of  History  .  .  .  of  Society  of 
Friends  (Armistead),  account  of 
Mrs.  Knowles,  no,  1 1 1  and  n. 

Seward,  Anna,  in,  118,  119 

Shaw,  Staffordshire,  36 

Shelley,  on  Charles  Lloyd's  copy  of 
Berkeley's  works,  158 

Siddons,  Mrs.,  171 

Siemens,  Sir  William,  203 

Slave-trade,  Birmingham  Quakers 
and,  53  ;  Samuel  Galton,  junior, 
and,  125  ;  practice  in  Virginia, 
179,  1 80  ;  action  of  Society  of 
Friends,  180 

Slitting-mill,  Foley's,  at  Stour- 
bridge,  23-25;  Lloyd's,  at  Bir- 
mingham, 22,  23,  25,  26 

Small  Heath  park,  60 

Smeaton,  192 

Smith,  Charles  Perrin,  of  New 
Jersey,  211 

Edward,  186 

Hawkes,  on  John  Taylor,  41 

Horace  J.,  of  Philadelphia,  16 

Smith-Ryland,  Mr.,  60 

Snow  Hill,  49 

Soho,  Boulton's  business  at,  49,  108 

Southall,  T.,  185 

Southey,  Robert,  53,  156 


Sparkbrook,  3,  35 

Spavold,  Samuel,  125 

Spooner,  Richard,  71 

Squire  Wilkinson,  story  of,  192,  193 

Stacey,  George,  of  Tottenham, 
clerk  to  Friends'  yearly  meet- 
ing, 185,  1 88  ;  marries  Deborah 
Lloyd,  1 86;  Quaker  dress  and, 
1 88 

Staffordshire  (Shaw),  picture  of 
Richard  Parkes's  residence,  36 

Stanley,  Elizabeth,  marries  the  first 
Charles  Lloyd  of  Dolobran,  2 

Steeds,  Mr.,  of  Edgbaston,  29 

Steelhouse  Lane,  48 

Stephenson,  George,  lectures  in 
Birmingham,  53,  202,  203 

Story  of  the  Black  Country  (Hack- 
wood),  199 

Story,  David,  72 

Stourbridge,  22  ;  nail-making  in- 
dustry of,  23-25  ;  Dr.  Johnson  at 
school — indites  verses  to  Olivia 
Lloyd,  1 10 

Stowe,  Mrs.  H.  Beecher,  visits 
"Farm,"  180 

Stuart,  Charles  Edward  ("Bonnie 
Prince  Charlie "),  Birmingham 
record  of  his  defeat,  34 

Sturge,  Dickinson,  15,  121 

Joseph,    ultra -peace    man, 

127  ;    apprenticeship   system   of 
slavery  and,  127  ;  184 

Sunny  Memories  (Mrs.  Beecher 
Stowe),  1 80 

Swan  (Birmingham),  meeting  in 
the,  28 

TANGYE,  Mr.  George,  James  Watt's 
private  workshop  at  Heathfield 
Hall,  52 

Sir  Richard,  52 

Taylor,  John,  starts  first  Birming- 
ham bank  with  the  second 
Sampson  Lloyd,  31,  32,  40  ;  "  the 
snuff-box  and  the  thumb,"  41  ; 
Dr.  Johnson  and,  4 1, 42  ;  Hutton's 
panegyric  on,  42,  43 ;  button 
manufactory,  41,  42,  43  ;  dies,  43 

James,  of  Moseley  Hall,  72, 73 

John,  junior,  32,  54,  57,  .59,  72 

William,  72 

Taylor  &  Pemberton,  54,  58 

Taylors   &   Lloyds,  first   bank   in 


246 


INDEX 


Birmingham  (1765),  31,  40,  44, 
54,  58  ;  partners,  32,  54,  55,  57, 
72,  73  ;  old  accounts,  55  ;  divi- 
sions of  profits,  56,  57,  58  ;  salaries 
of  chief  clerks,  57,  72,  73  ;  rival 
banks,  58,  59,64  ;  Priestley  Riots 
and,  59,  60  ;  Lloyds  notes,  61  ; 
the  difficult  year  1797,  61-64  ; 
Napoleonic  unsettlement,  64,  65  ; 
panic  of  1825,  65-67  ;  Charles 
Lloyd  weathers  the  storm,  66,  67  ; 
runs  on  the  bank,  68,  69 ;  use  of 
^100  notes,  69 ;  half  Birmingham 
said  to  be  in  debt  to,  71,  72  ; 
change  of  title  to  Lloyds  £  Co., 
73;  joint-stock  fashion,  74;  failure 
of  Att  woods,  74,  75.  See  also 
Lloyds  Banking  Company 
Limited 
Teg,  Ivan  (the"  Handsome"). 1,210 

Owen  (son),  assumes  name  of 

Lloyd     (c.      1476)  — "the     first 
Lloyd,"  i 
"The    Silent    Highway,'"'    and    its 

dividends,  94 

Theatres  in  Birmingham,  50,  5  r 
Thomas,  Rev.  R.  Owen,  his  chart 
of  pedigree  of  the  Lloyds,  205, 208 
Thorn,  Messrs.,  200 
Thrale's  brewery,  119  ;   Ur.  John- 
son's remark  at  sale  of,  119 
Thrale,  Mrs..  119 

Tildesley,  J.  C.,on  Wednesbury,  195 
Tithe  Commutation  Act,  197 
Tuxford,  story  of  Quaker  at   the 
Inn,  191 

UNWIN,      Matthew,      first      book 
printed  in  Birmingham,  50 

VIRGINIA,  practice  of  slave-owners, 

179,  1 80 
Voyage  to  Abyssinia  (Lobo),  109 

WALKER,  Thomas,  196 
Walthamstow,  39 

Warren,  Mr.,  Dr.  Johnson  and,  50, 
109 


Washington,  George,  203 
Watson,  Dr.  (Bishop  of  Llandaff), 

157 

—  Miss,  157 

Watt,  James,  49,  189,  192  ; 
Sampson  Lloyd's  liberality  to, 
49 ;  description  of,  51;  statue  of, 
52  ;  private  workshop,  52  ;  letter 
to  Boulton,  52,  53 

Wealth  of  Nations  (Adam  Smith), 
57  n. 

Wedgwood,  Josiah,  51 

Wednesbury,  Richard  Parkes's 
property  at,  36;  coal  "delphs" 
about,  47  ;  Miss  Fidoe's  property 
at,  106;  Richard  Parkes's  500 
years' lease,  190;  second  Samuel 
Lloyd  goes  to  live  at,  193;  ex- 
cursions to,  193,  194;  J.  C. 
Tildesley's  article  on,  195  ; 
Lloyds,  Fosters  &  Co.,  199-201  ; 
Patent  Shaft  and  Axletree  Co. 
Limited,  199,  201 

Wednesbury  Ancient  and  Modern 
(Hackwood),  199 

Welshpool,  I,  5  ;  Friends  in  prison 
at,  6-ii  ;  12,  16 

Westmorland,  Lord,  Gretna  Green 
marriage,  104,  105 

Wilkes,  John,  119 

Wilkinson,  John,  his  tokens,  61 

-  Thomas,  148 
Williams,  Richard,  13  ;/. 
Winchmore  Hill,  38 
Withering,  Mr.,  51 
Wollstonecraft,  Mary,  159,  171 
Worcester,  Marquis  of,  189 
Wordsworth,  Christopher,  Bishop, 

marries  Priscilla  Lloyd,  168,  170, 
171;  opinion  regarding  Joseph 
Bevan  Braithwaite,  181 

-  Dorothy,  156 

-  William,  53,  156 

Wright,  Mr.  William,  of  Moseley, 
230  n. 

YARDLEY  (near  Birmingham),  183 
Youngsbury  (near  London),  38,  39 


Printed  by  BALLANTVNE,  HANSON  6-  Co. 
Edinburgh  &  London 


CS  Lloyd,   Samuel 
439  The  Lloyds  of 

L55  Birmingham     2d  ed. 
1907 


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